• Everyone who exceeds 50 miles by Dec. 31 will receive commercial astronaut wing even if they were just passengers
• Nobody after that will even if they pilot a ship
• Agency reverses earlier decision to award wings only to those essential to flight operations/success
• FAA says this is what was intended all along

WASHINGTON (FAA PR) – With the advent of the commercial space tourism era, starting in 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will now recognize individuals who reach space on its website instead of issuing Commercial Space Astronaut Wings. Any individual who is on an FAA-licensed or permitted launch and reaches 50 statute miles above the surface of the Earth will be listed on the site. 

OK, everybody.

The NTSB just completed its final media briefing in Mojave on the SpaceShipTwo investigation. And this story got stranger.

During the Q&A, NTSB Acting Chairman Christopher Hart appeared to back off his claim yesterday that it was co-pilot Mike Alsbury, who died in the crash, unlocked the feather mechanism at Mach 1.0 instead of Mach 1.4. The unlocking of the mechanism in the heavier air during powered acceleration caused the twin tail booms to deploy in conditions they were not designed to perform in. The tail booms ripped off the ship in two seconds, causing SpaceShipTwo to disintegrate.

Hart indicated that he was mistaken in his statement on Sunday night, and that officials were not sure who the pilot in the right-hand seat was who unlocked the feather mechanism. He ended the briefing without clarifying how such a mistake could have been made. Pilots are always in the left-hand seats while co-pilots sit in the right-hand one.

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Peter Siebold (Photo: Scaled Composites)

Cal Poly grad flies high
Mustang Daily

Peter Siebold, who completed his degree in 2001, received the Iven C. Kincheloe award at the 53rd Annual Symposium for the international Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP). The award is given after aeronautical companies nominate pilots whom they feel have made a significant contribution to flight test through development, performance and testing.

“It’s without question the most prestigious award a test pilot can receive in his career,” Douglas Shane, president of Scaled Composites and Siebold’s boss, said. “It’s likened to a Heisman Trophy in football.”

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