'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Even though Jeff Bezos crossed into space on Tuesday, he still may not get his official astronaut wings from the federal government.
On the same day as Blue Origin's first human spaceflight, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a change to its Commercial Astronaut Wings Program for the first time in 17 years. This shift at the dawn of the space tourism era means the U.S. government may not formally recognize that billionaires Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson became astronauts when they blasted into space earlier this month.
Before the FAA issued the new restrictions, Bezos, along with three other crewmates who flew with the Blue Origin founder, would have qualified to receive FAA commercial astronaut wings. That's because the travelers flew to an altitude of at least 50 miles (80.5 kilometres), the U.S.-recognized boundary of space.
That was true until a few days ago.
Effective July 20, the FAA issued one more critical criterion: Commercial launch crew members must also demonstrate "activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety," an FAA spokesperson said, quoting the new order.
Astronaut wings were first awarded in the early 1960s to the Mercury 7 astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Virgil "Gus" Grissom by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force, respectively. It became a rite of passage for all NASA astronauts, from the Apollo missions to the Space Shuttle progam. The FAA created the Commercial Astronaut Wings Program in 2004 after Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipOne became the first private spacecraft to reach space.
David Mackay and Mike Masucci, the two pilots for Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo flight on July 11, had already received their astronaut wings. So had one of the mission specialists, Beth Moses, on a previous test flight. But the three other mission specialists, including Branson, were first-time fliers and were on board to either evaluate the astronaut experience or conduct suborbital scientific research. Neither activity would explicitly qualify them to receive their wings under the FAA's new order.
The four crew members on board Blue Origin's first crewed flight did even less during their 10-minute-long suborbital flight. The company's CEO, Bob Smith, explained during a prelaunch mission briefing that the New Shepard spacecraft "is an autonomous vehicle. There's really nothing for a crew member to go do."
A spokesperson for the FAA said the shift was made because it "aligns more directly to the FAA's role to protect public safety during commercial space operations." The FAA did not respond to an inquiry about why the change took effect on the same day as the Blue Origin flight.
When asked what the change in policy means for the most recent space tourists, an FAA spokesperson said that, in order to get astronaut wings, a nomination is required.
"There are no nominations currently before the FAA to review," the spokesperson said.
There is one caveat in the new regulations that may still allow Branson, Bezos and some of their crewmates a chance to become formally recognized by the FAA as astronauts. The new order allows the agency to issue an honorary award to "individuals whose contribution to commercial human space flight merits special recognition." It's up to the sole discretion of FAA's associate administrator for commercial space transportation to determine who qualifies for the "honorary" astronaut wings.
Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment about whether or not they plan to nominate any of their recent crew members, including Bezos and Branson, for the program.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.