Tue Apr 15 12:20:00 UTC 2025: ## Space Tourists, Not Astronauts: Katy Perry’s Blue Origin Flight Sparks Debate
**London, April 15, 2025** – While Blue Origin celebrated Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, and four other women reaching space aboard the New Shepard rocket yesterday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clarifies that they are not officially astronauts. The 11-minute flight exceeded the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space at 66.5 miles (107 km). However, the FAA’s updated regulations stipulate that astronaut status requires crew members to perform “activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety.”
The New Shepard spacecraft’s autonomous operation, controlled entirely from the ground, meant the passengers had no such role. Therefore, they are classified as space tourists, not astronauts.
This contrasts with Sir Richard Branson’s 2021 Virgin Galactic flight, which was deemed a test flight, granting him astronaut wings due to its contribution to flight safety. However, with 52 previous New Shepard flights, this exception is unlikely to apply to Perry and her fellow passengers.
The FAA’s Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program, initially designed to recognize commercial spaceflight achievements, has since been scaled back. The agency now adds individuals exceeding 50 miles in altitude to a “Human Spaceflight Recognition” list, but this does not confer astronaut status. This list includes both space tourists and NASA astronauts who used commercial vehicles for return to Earth. While Perry and her crewmates will likely be added, they will remain space tourists, not astronauts.
Neither NASA nor the US Army, the other bodies with astronaut designation authority, recognize individuals from commercial space tourism programs. Both require extensive training and active mission roles. Blue Origin and the FAA have been contacted for comment.
First Piper 