Author Topic: What should we call people who pay to fly to space  (Read 22791 times)

Offline chris1961

  • Member
  • Posts: 6
  • Colorado
  • Liked: 3
  • Likes Given: 28
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #100 on: 08/04/2022 09:46 pm »
I think the terminology will work itself out. In all other forms of transportation, we call the people who ride along passengers. The crew members have names–pilots, flight attendants, stewards, sailors, drivers, etc. Right now, spaceflight is not routine, and the people riding along have money and want to be called something special. But over time, I suspect we will revert to calling them passengers.

Offline whitelancer64

Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #101 on: 08/04/2022 10:35 pm »
Hehe, I'd definitely take a suborbital joyride if it was offered to me, but I wouldn't prance about calling myself an astronaut after the flight. I'm not a cowboy either just because my parents dragged me around the zoo on a horse.

Astronaut means someone who travels in space. Are you a spacecraft pilot? No. Did you travel in space? Yes. That makes you an astronaut, regardless of what you choose to call yourself or what a government agency will give you a certification for.

Same as going on an airplane makes you an aeronaut. Are you an airplane pilot? No. Did you travel through the air? Yes.

WRT to your horse comparison, a cowboy is a profession. Going around on a horse makes you a horse rider. Cowboys are also horse riders, but are also trained to herd cattle.

So that would leave us with no word to describe those people whose profession it is to fly rockets into space. Until now they have been called astronauts, but from now on everybody going up will be astronauts, even though they are just paying passengers. That does not seem reasonable.

In aviation we distinguish between pilots and passengers, or aircrew and passengers. I like the phrase used in the beginning of the NSF article on this hop: "space tourists" (Later in the piece they are called astronauts, oh well...).

However, my real beef with these guys being called astronauts is mainly because they just do a hop that only barely gets them above 100 km. In the early days of aviation there was a definition called "sustained flight". To me these hops are hardly sustained flight. That would be reaching orbit and staying there.

It does no such thing.  Professional astronauts are also called astronauts. There are a PLETHORA of words in the English language that have multiple meanings. If you wish to make a distinction then you say "professional astronaut," or "NASA astronaut" or whatever term you prefer for a non-professional astronaut (there are several to choose from). It seems NASA is currently going with "private astronaut."

As I already said, in aviation there are pilots and passengers, both are aeronauts.

Space Tourist is just one term, but that implies that the person is going up just to sight-see. Perhaps that's fine for what New Shepard is doing, but it's not quite the right term for other commercial spaceflight - the crew of Axiom missions, for example, who are paying for their own flights, but are going to the ISS primarily to do experiments and other preparatory work for Axiom's private space station modules.

Perhaps we do need more accurate, unique terms to distinguish between professional astronauts, commercial astronauts, and space tourism astronauts. These terms are in flux and there's no real standard designations yet. Until then I don't see any problem using adjectives - like professional, commercial, space tourist - to modify the word astronaut.

Using the definition of "sustained flight" aka orbit, does strip away the astronaut wings from the X-15 pilots, and Shepard and Grissom's wings for the first two crewed Mercury flights.
« Last Edit: 08/07/2022 12:37 am by whitelancer64 »
"One bit of advice: it is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree -- make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to." - Elon Musk
"There are lies, damned lies, and launch schedules." - Larry J

Offline Oersted

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2897
  • Liked: 4098
  • Likes Given: 2773
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #102 on: 08/04/2022 11:03 pm »
Great post, whitelancer.

I have no problem with the X-15 pilots not being recognised as astronauts. I am pretty sure they did not consider themselves to be astronauts after those flights.

Thankfully both Grissom and Shepard later went into orbit, because they clearly and deservedly were astronauts.

Anyway, what I think is of little importance...  :-)

Offline whitelancer64

Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #103 on: 08/07/2022 12:37 am »
Great post, whitelancer.

I have no problem with the X-15 pilots not being recognised as astronauts. I am pretty sure they did not consider themselves to be astronauts after those flights.

Thankfully both Grissom and Shepard later went into orbit, because they clearly and deservedly were astronauts.

Anyway, what I think is of little importance...  :-)

They probably did consider themselves astronauts, since all the Air Force X-15 pilots who went over 50 miles were awarded USAF astronaut wings.
"One bit of advice: it is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree -- make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to." - Elon Musk
"There are lies, damned lies, and launch schedules." - Larry J

Offline laszlo

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 920
  • Liked: 1235
  • Likes Given: 530

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #105 on: 08/09/2022 04:07 pm »
We've got a thread for this:

What should we call people who pay to fly to space
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=53836.0

[zubenelgenubi: I split/merged 9 posts to the above-mentioned thread.]
RICH
« Last Edit: 08/09/2022 08:05 pm by zubenelgenubi »

Offline Rocketnut

Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #106 on: 09/08/2022 07:14 am »
Here is my list:

Military Austronuts  = Advance trained = Former Military Pilots (Future US Space Force Austronuts)
Commercial Austronuts = Highly trained = Current NASA autronuts (somewhat like airline commercai pilots
Private Austronuts = Trained for flight operations = Private and Commercial Austronuts for special Lauch Missions (Axiom for example)
Passengers Austronuts = Trained for flight emergency procedures = Passengers on Commercial and Private Missions (Space Adventures for example)

Etherphiles

Offline Rocketnut

Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #107 on: 09/08/2022 07:17 am »
Practicing Etherphiles

Online StarshipTrooper

  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 170
  • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Liked: 264
  • Likes Given: 363
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #108 on: 09/08/2022 02:06 pm »
Here is my list:

Military Austronuts  = Advance trained = Former Military Pilots (Future US Space Force Austronuts)
Commercial Austronuts = Highly trained = Current NASA autronuts (somewhat like airline commercai pilots
Private Austronuts = Trained for flight operations = Private and Commercial Austronuts for special Lauch Missions (Axiom for example)
Passengers Austronuts = Trained for flight emergency procedures = Passengers on Commercial and Private Missions (Space Adventures for example)

Etherphiles
Perhaps they are Austronuts if they launch from Australia. ;)
“I'm very confident that success is within the set of possible outcomes.”  Elon Musk

Offline JayWee

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 997
  • Liked: 994
  • Likes Given: 1838
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #109 on: 10/05/2022 04:23 pm »
In today's SpaceX broadcast of Crew-5, they used the word "spacegoers". Interesting.

Offline laszlo

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 920
  • Liked: 1235
  • Likes Given: 530
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #110 on: 10/05/2022 06:05 pm »
RE: OP

Everybody pays somehow - cash, putting their lives on the line, etc.

Offline Barley

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1009
  • Liked: 669
  • Likes Given: 369
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #111 on: 10/05/2022 07:03 pm »
What do you call a Russian that pays to fly to space on a Chinese rocket?

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2836
  • Liked: 1084
  • Likes Given: 33
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #112 on: 10/06/2022 03:41 am »
What do you call a Russian that pays to fly to space on a Chinese rocket?

A rich neighbor?

Offline Sandra654

  • Member
  • Posts: 5
  • Canada
  • Liked: 1
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #113 on: 11/12/2022 04:06 pm »
Then, logically, those who visit space should be referred to as space tourists, keeping the distinctive word "space."

Offline OverThePlanetsAndFarAway

  • Member
  • Posts: 13
  • Liked: 2
  • Likes Given: 2
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #114 on: 12/16/2022 11:55 am »
'Spacetraveller' for me, and make it one word.

Offline rliebman

  • Member
  • Posts: 52
  • Liked: 16
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #115 on: 12/16/2022 12:36 pm »
Tourists

Offline Kansan52

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1488
  • Hutchinson, KS
  • Liked: 570
  • Likes Given: 539
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #116 on: 12/16/2022 01:20 pm »
Spacefarers.

Tourists have a place to go. That may include the ISS but most are simply going up and down and sometimes around.

Offline OverThePlanetsAndFarAway

  • Member
  • Posts: 13
  • Liked: 2
  • Likes Given: 2
Re: What should we call people who pay to fly to space
« Reply #117 on: 12/16/2022 03:50 pm »
Citizen Explorers.

Service Guarantees Citizenship!

 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0