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[Eric Berger] Trump official to Katy Perry and Bezos’ fiancée: “You cannot identify as an astronaut” (arstechnica.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The bottom line is that there is no relevant federal definition of an astronaut. Duffy's own agency certainly doesn't claim responsibility for making that designation.

Regardless, it's not really his call. You may not like Perry's music or her association with Dr. Luke. But if she wants to call herself an astronaut, there's no one who can tell her she's not. Personally, I'm happy to call her one, along with the many other amazing women who have only reached space in the last few years because of the suborbital space tourism vehicles developed by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. The more the merrier.

I find it much better to live in a world where space tourism is actually happening, rather than one in which it is not.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm fine with not calling people who are space tourists "astronauts", but we gotta apply it equally. Bezos isn't an astronaut, and neither is Shatner (who I would argue probably has the best claim to the title among all space tourists).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I checked different sources on shattners space flight, and I couldnt find one that calls him an astronaut.

Heres the ones that meantioned the word astronaut.

William Shatner is probably the most famous astronaut in the world. But of course, he's not an astronaut. He's an actor. The 91-year-old Canadian has been an icon since he played Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series, which debuted in 1966. But Captain Kirk, er, William Shatner, did actually go to space — last year,

Again, this is a man who has spent much of his life thinking about space—not as an astronaut or astronomer or astrophysicist, but as a human being stuck on the Earth's surface, struck with wonder about what's out there. He explained what he had been wrong about:

Even FOX news didnt call him an astronaut.

I didnt check all sources, just the top 10 results.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I honestly wasn't sure if either of them had been called astronauts, just figured it would be best to get it in there to make it as clear as possible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Sorry, I wasnt trying to call you out, you just made me curios, because it's a valid point.