But here’s to NASA for making clear that those “astronaut wings,” which both men made such a show of enlisting real astronauts to pin to their lapels, are no more legitimate than a graduate degree from Trump University.
Here is how the BBC brought these wannabe astronauts down to earth (and I said it before Erin Burnett stole it) in a report yesterday:
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None of them became NASA astronauts today. … NASA reserves the right to award the wings to only those who complete a set of specific requirements. Eligible US citizens need to possess a master’s degree in a STEM field, have two years of relevant professional experience or complete ‘at least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time on jet aircraft.’ …
Bezos and company didn’t end up qualifying for the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Commercial Astronaut Wings, due to the fact they were passengers, not flight crew. …
The FAA also approved today’s Blue Origin launch last week — but despite the approval, the administration’s wings are still out of reach for Bezos and company.
The administration also requires crew members to perform a job while on the flight to qualify as ‘flight crew’ and don’t award them to ‘spaceflight participants,’ CNN reports.
Branson, interestingly, did qualify for FAA wings during his maiden voyage earlier this month, as he was tasked with evaluating the private customer experience during the launch.
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And so Branson bested Bezos twice:
- By being first to fly into space on his own spacecraft; and
- By being smart enough to declare himself a glorified researcher to get FAA wings – even if not the NASA wings he touted.
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