Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, William Shatner to get FAA Astronaut Wings

The Federal Aviation Administration will award Astronaut Wings to Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, William Shatner and 12 others, before discontinuing the honour. The title is given to people who have flown at least 50 miles above Earth on a FAA-licensed commercial spacecraft. 

“The U.S. commercial human spaceflight industry has come a long way from conducting test flights to launching paying customers into space. The Astronaut Wings program, created in 2004, served its original purpose to bring additional attention to this exciting endeavor,” FAA Associate Administrator Wayne Monteith told CNN. 

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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 January 1. 

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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.

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While they may not get wings, future space tourists will get their names added to the FAA’s official commercial astronaut list. To qualify, they must soar at least 50 miles (80 kilometers) 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.”