| Astronaut Badge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Awarded by United States | |
| Type | Badge |
| Awarded for | Completing training and traveling in a spaceflight, as defined by NASA or the United States Department of Defense. |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Statistics | |
| Last awarded | On going |
| Army Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | (Group 2 badges) CMB - EFMB |
| Equivalent | (Group 3 badges) Astronaut - EOD - Aviator - Flight Surgeon - Aircrew |
| Next (lower) | (Group 4 badges) Parachutist, Air Assault, Military Freefall Parachutist |
| Related | Aviator |
The Astronaut Badge is a badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful spaceflight. A variation of the astronaut badge is also issued to civilians who are employed with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as specialists on spaceflight missions.
Contents |
Eligibility
To earn an astronaut badge, a military officer must complete all required training and participate in a space flight more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the Earth. This boundary comes from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and is a definition recognized by every country. However, in the 1960s, the United States Department of Defense awarded astronaut badges to military and civilian pilots who flew aircraft higher than 50 miles (80 kilometers).[1] Seven USAF and NASA pilots qualified for the astronaut badge by flying the sub-orbital X-15 rocket spaceplane.[1]
American test pilot Michael Melvill was awarded a Commercial Astronaut Badge by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) when he flew sub-orbital mission aboard the Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne rocket spaceplane.[1] All other men and women awarded the astronaut badge earned it traveling to outer space in non-winged rockets or the space shuttle.
Military badges
Each of the military services issues its own version of the Astronaut Badge, which consists of a standard Aviation Badge with an Astronaut Device (shooting star through a halo) centered on the badge's shield, or escutcheon. The United States Army and Air Force Astronaut Badges are issued in three degrees: Basic, Senior, and Master/Command. The Senior Astronaut Badge is denoted by a star centered above the decoration, while the Master/Command level is indicated by a star and wreath.
United States Army
The Astronaut Badge issued by the U.S. Army is awarded in three levels: Army Astronaut, Senior Army Astronaut, and Master Army Astronaut.[2] Astronauts that have yet to fly a mission and have not been awarded any aviation badge previously, will be awarded the Army Aviation Badge. The badge's design is similar to the Army Aviation Badge but it has a shooting star and elliptical orbit over the shield.[2] The shooting star and orbit representation is meant to imply the astronaut's theater of operations, space.[2] The Army Astronaut Badge was approved on 17 May 1983.[2]
United States Air Force
The U.S. Air Force issues its astronaut badge in three degrees: Basic, Senior, and Command. The Air Force Astronaut Badge consists of a standard USAF aviation badge, upon which is centered the Astronaut Device. The Air Force does not consider Astronaut to be a separate rating from its six established rating badges, but as a "qualifier" to them, and may only be awarded by the Air Force Chief of Staff after written application upon completion of an operational space mission. The rating of Observer is used for USAF Mission Specialists who have completed training but not a mission and are not otherwise aeronautically rated as a USAF pilot or USAF navigator. In 2007, the U.S. Air Force announced the opening of astronaut mission specialists positions to enlisted personnel who met certain eligibility requirements with insignia based on USAF enlisted aircrew wings. No enlisted astronaut badges are yet known to have been issued[3].
The Naval Astronaut insignia are issued in a single degree by the U.S. Navy and consists of a Naval Aviator insignia or Naval Flight Officer insignia with a centered astronaut emblem.
United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps astronauts are trained in the same pipeline as United States Navy astronauts, and awarded the same insignia as Naval Aviators or Naval Flight Officers.
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard astronauts are trained in the same pipeline as United States Navy astronauts, and awarded the same insignia.
Civilian badges
NASA also has an Astronaut Badge, which is issued to civilian personnel who participate in U.S. space missions.[citation needed]
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has granted commercial astronaut wings to private pilots who have performed a successful spaceflight. Currently, only Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie have these wings.[4][5]
NASA Astronaut Pins
In addition to the Astronaut Badge, which is worn on a military uniform, an Astronaut Pin is also issued to all NASA astronauts. It is a lapel pin, worn on civilian clothing. The pin is issued in two grades, silver and gold, with the silver pin awarded to candidates who have successfully completed astronaut training and the gold pin to astronauts who have actually flown in space. Astronaut candidates are given silver pins but are required to purchase the gold pin at a cost of approximately $400.[6]
Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean took his silver pin to the Moon in November 1969 and left it on the lunar surface. He said later that since he had worn the silver pin for six years and that he would be wearing a gold pin after the mission, he would not be needing his silver one any more, so "what better place to leave it than on the moon?".[citation needed]
A unique astronaut pin was made for NASA astronaut Deke Slayton in 1967. It was gold in color, but instead of the star, it had a small diamond in its place. It was made at the request of the crew of Apollo 1 as a tribute to Slayton's work at NASA. The idea was that everyone in the Astronaut Office had thought that Slayton would never get to fly in space (due to his heart murmur; he would later fly on board the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project as Docking Module Pilot), but as they knew that it was primarily because of him that they managed to do so, he should wear a gold pin rather than a silver one as a token of appreciation. As they knew that Slayton would refuse to wear the exact same gold pin as veteran astronauts, the diamond was substituted. It was supposed to have been flown on board the Apollo 1 spacecraft when it was launched into space, then given to Slayton after the mission was over. However, the Apollo 1 crew died in the launch pad fire in January 1967. The pin was given to Slayton by the widows of the dead crew as a token of condolence. This diamond-studded gold pin was later flown to the moon on Apollo 11 in July 1969.[7]
See also
- Military badges of the United States
- Badges of the United States Air Force
- Badges of the United States Army
- Badges of the United States Coast Guard
- Badges of the United States Marine Corps
- Badges of the United States Navy
- Human spaceflight
- Edge of space
- Space tourism
- Spaceplane
References
- ^ a b c NASA (November 29, 2007). "Astronaut". World Book at NASA. NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/astronaut_worldbook.html. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Army Astronaut Device and Badges", The Institute of Heraldry, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, accessed March 18, 2009.
- ^ a b Astronaut Applications Open for Airmen
- ^ Active Commercial Space Licenses, FAA, accessed 2007-02-20
- ^ Schwartz, John (October 12, 2004). "Now Earning Wings, a New Kind of Astronaut". new York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/12/science/space/12astr.html. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- ^ Mullane, Mike (2006). Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut. Simon and Schuster. pp. 88. ISBN 0743296761 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ Moon Shot by Deke Slayton
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