FAA says it will no longer give out commercial astronaut wings

FAA says it will no longer give out commercial astronaut wings because too many are launching into space

Uh huh. Yeah. Uh huh. When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut and so did just about every other kid I knew. But it turns out that despite it being known as an extremely difficult career path to attempt your chances of becoming an astronaut even after getting the right credentials are still slim. Nasa has just released a list of its new astronaut trainees. And there aren't very many considering the applicants for the program numbered more than 12,000. So how many did our National Space Administration take on? Just 10. That's a fraction of a fraction of a percent of total applicants. The astronauts are aged between 32 45. And in addition to learning the myriad skills needed in space will also be learning Russian to communicate with their cosmonaut roommates on the international Space station. The team will likely be training for Nasa's next moon mission, its first in nearly 50 years or even an eventual trip to mars its first ever. But these future space explorers still have a way to go now. They'll be headed to the johnson Space Center in texas where they will begin to years of intense training. Yeah. Mhm.

FAA says it will no longer give out commercial astronaut wings because too many are launching into space

Heads up, future space travelers: No more commercial astronaut wings will be awarded from the Federal Aviation Administration after this year.The FAA said Friday it's clipping its astronaut wings because too many people are now launching into space and it's getting out of the astronaut designation business entirely.The news comes one day ahead of Blue Origin's planned liftoff from West Texas with former NFL player and TV celebrity Michael Strahan. He and his five fellow passengers will still be eligible for wings since the FAA isn't ending its long-standing program until Jan. 1.NASA's astronauts also have nothing to worry about going forward — they'll still get their pins from the space agency.All 15 people who rocketed into space for the first time this year on private U.S. flights will be awarded their wings, according to the FAA. That includes Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson, as well as the other space newbies who accompanied them on their brief up-and-down trips. The companies handed out their own version of astronaut wings after the flights.All four passengers on SpaceX's first private flight to orbit last September also qualified for FAA wings. Adding Blue Origin's next crew of six will bring the list to 30. The FAA' s first commercial wings recipient was in 2004.Earlier this year, the FAA tightened up its qualifications, specifying that awardees must be trained crew members, versus paying customers along for the ride. But with the program ending, the decision was made to be all-inclusive, a spokesman said.Future space tourists will get their names put on a FAA commercial spaceflight list. To qualify, they must soar at least 50 miles on an FAA-sanctioned launch."The U.S. commercial human spaceflight industry has come a long way from conducting test flights to launching paying customers into space," the FAA's associate administrator Wayne Monteith said in a statement. "Now it's time to offer recognition to a larger group of adventurers daring to go to space."___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —

Heads up, future space travelers: No more commercial astronaut wings will be awarded from the Federal Aviation Administration after this year.

The FAA said Friday it's clipping its astronaut wings because too many people are now launching into space and it's getting out of the astronaut designation business entirely.

The news comes one day ahead of Blue Origin's planned liftoff from West Texas with former NFL player and TV celebrity Michael Strahan. He and his five fellow passengers will still be eligible for wings since the FAA isn't ending its long-standing program until Jan. 1.

NASA's astronauts also have nothing to worry about going forward — they'll still get their pins from the space agency.

All 15 people who rocketed into space for the first time this year on private U.S. flights will be awarded their wings, according to the FAA. That includes Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson, as well as the other space newbies who accompanied them on their brief up-and-down trips. The companies handed out their own version of astronaut wings after the flights.

All four passengers on SpaceX's first private flight to orbit last September also qualified for FAA wings.

Adding Blue Origin's next crew of six will bring the list to 30. The FAA' s first commercial wings recipient was in 2004.

Earlier this year, the FAA tightened up its qualifications, specifying that awardees must be trained crew members, versus paying customers along for the ride. But with the program ending, the decision was made to be all-inclusive, a spokesman said.

Future space tourists will get their names put on a FAA commercial spaceflight list. To qualify, they must soar at least 50 miles on an FAA-sanctioned launch.

"The U.S. commercial human spaceflight industry has come a long way from conducting test flights to launching paying customers into space," the FAA's associate administrator Wayne Monteith said in a statement. "Now it's time to offer recognition to a larger group of adventurers daring to go to space."

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

��vlog