Who gets to be called an astronaut? Private space travel has reignited debate over use of prestigious title

Who gets to be called an astronaut? Private space travel has reignited debate over use of prestigious title

Space Daily

Published

Nottingham UK (SPX) May 05, 2025

The recent all-women spaceflight carried out on Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin vehicle has raised discussion of who gets to be called an astronaut. Sean Duffy, Donald Trump's transportation secretary, disputed the astronaut title given to those on the flight, including singer Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King. The term astronaut was only rarely disputed until the first "celebrity" suborbital

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