To counter Burt Rutan yet again, I think the term "astronaut" should be reserved for pilots, crew, and PAID professional employees. Those who are purely paying passengers should be called "space travellers" or something similar. Otherwise the title becomes diluted and loses any prestige pretty much immediatlely. After all, Michael Jackson could buy a seat for his favorite chimp; would the chimp then be an astronaut? Come on, reality check time. Is the term going to be "awarded" to anyone with the bucks to buy a ticket? I think Rutan is counting on the title for all passengers as a marketing tool. Cheap shot. Really cheap. If that's the case, the term now carries no cachet or prestige at all, in fact it's the replacement word for "payload".
Space Race 2: Flying High Beyond The Sky
The mission now for Burt Rutan's team is to create 3,000 new astronauts a year, beginning in four or five years.
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