JAKARTA - Jeff Bezos may have to settle for an "honorary" title in his space race ambitions after US air authorities changed the requirements for the title "astronaut."
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released Order 8800.2 on the same day the former Amazon CEO flew on his Blue Origin ship earlier this week. Bezos does reach a minimum altitude of 50 miles above the Earth's surface, but he could potentially fail to meet other criteria as an astronaut.
Prospective astronauts must participate in in-flight activities that are "essential to public safety" or contribute to the "safety of human spaceflight." In addition, astronauts must meet requirements for flight crew and training under federal regulations. However, the FAA has not yet clarified what it considers to be qualifying activities.
In contrast, billionaire Richard Branson, who flies on his SpaceShipTwo rocket, may still qualify because he ostensibly tests his rocket cabin experience while two pilots guide the ship. Branson has also obtained a license to fly before launching into space.
Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said ahead of his maiden voyage that Bezos and his fellow passengers had done nothing to qualify as astronauts. "There really wasn't anything that could be done during the flight because it was an autonomous vehicle," said Bom Smith, according to the BBC.
The FAA sought to tighten standards as Bezos and Branson were both pushing to try and open commercial space flights to the public: Branson became the first owner of a space company to launch his own spacecraft on July 11 while Bezos flew on July 20.
The FAA opened an office in Houston, Texas, to better monitor competing companies. "Maintaining public safety as the pace of commercial space operations increases requires the FAA to be adaptable, agile, and vigilant," FAA commercial space transportation association administrator Wayne Monteith said in a statement. "The Houston field office will help us achieve this important goal."
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