The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an astronaut as “someone who travels beyond the earth’s atmosphere”.
The Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, recently announced that he would be going into space in his rocket ship called New ShephardThe system is named after Alan Shepard, the second person, and first American, in space, and the flight is timed to mark the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. on 20 July 2021.
If successful, this step is likely to bring in an era of private space travel, i.e., several wealthy individuals will likely go to space as passengers in the not-so-distant future.
If we go by the dictionary definition of the word astronaut, all these people would then qualify to be called astronauts.
Being called an astronaut is a big deal, and if someone could get the label just because he/she could afford it, it would take away the ‘specialness’ from the title.
And this is just one part of the debate.
The second argument is on what defines space.
As per NASA, space begins at 80.4 kms (50 miles) above sea level, and this means anyone who goes this distance upwards is an astronaut in the eyes of the US government.
Even if we consider the most accepted demarcation between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space, it is the Kármán line, which is 100 kms above sea level.
As per reports, the New Shepard vehicle will carry Bezos and his fellow travellers beyond the Kármán line, and so he will technically be an astronaut after this trip.
Some experts are saying that the title should be reserved for pilots and scientists only, while others are adding a technical descriptionIt is the minimum altitude at which an object moving with sufficient velocity could complete one circular orbit of the Earth without the benefit of further propulsion before the drag force associated with the very thin atmosphere at that altitude would cause its orbit to decay and the object to plunge back to Earth. to the definition of space.
But with the advancements in technology and the cost efficiencies that will eventually build, space—even with its technical description—won’t remain inaccessible for common people for long.
This means anyone could soon be an astronaut, and this is at the core of the debate.
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