Chuck, is it true that when Andy Rooney retires from 60 Minutes you'll be taking his place as curmudgeon-in-chief? :-) Chuck Hards wrote:
To counter Burt Rutan yet again, I think the term "astronaut" should be reserved for pilots, crew, and PAID professional employees.
Looks like the dictionaries can not agree. The Yahoo dictionary defines astronaut as: "A person trained to pilot, navigate, or otherwise participate as a crew member of a spacecraft." But Websters defines it as: "A person who travels beyond Earth's atmosphere." I was amused to see that the dictionary I've kept in my various desks over the past 30+ years does not list astronaut. Makes me feel even older than I am... :-)
After all, Michael Jackson could buy a seat for his favorite chimp; would the chimp then be an astronaut? Or maybe Ape-O-Naut ( http://www.ape-o-naut.org/famous/famous/reallife.html )?
Patrick