Star Trek's William Shatner receives Commercial Space Astronaut Wings from the FAA
William Shatner in his flight suit for Blue Origin NS-18. From Blue Origin on YouTube
DECEMBER 12, 2021 - William Shatner might not ever get to call himself an actual starship captain, but he can at least call himself an astronaut now, thanks to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The New York Times is reporting that the F.A.A. is awarding their Commercial Space Astronaut Wings to Shatner, following his flight aboard Blue Origin’s NS-18. Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson, among several others, were also awarded the wings.
The first set of wings was awarded to Mike Melvill, the test pilot of the Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne plane, in 2004. Despite the narrowing of the criteria for earning wings by the F.A.A. after Bezos flew above the 50-mile limit that marks the beginning of space, all who flew or will yet fly to space on private spacecraft this year will earn them. After the end of the year, the F.A.A. will stop awarding the wings but will continue to add the names of those who fly to space on an F.A.A.-licensed craft to its Commercial Human Spaceflight Recognition list. There are currently 24 individuals on the list.
For more on the Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program, head over to NYTimes.com.
David is a contributing writer for Daily Star Trek News on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. He is a librarian, baseball fan, and book and movie buff. He has also written for American Libraries and Skeptical Inquirer. David also enjoys diverse music, but leans toward classical and jazz. He plays a mean radio.
