New Mars Forums

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Eight X-15 Pilots

...Honored as Astronauts

*If this has been posted previously, Search didn't yield it up. 

It's high (pardon the pun) time these pilots were recognized. 

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Shaun Barrett

Member

From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Registered: 2001-12-28

Posts: 2,843

Re: Eight X-15 Pilots

I noticed this article but wasn't too sure about the criterion for receiving astonaut's wings.
They seemed to be saying getting to 50 miles altitude is enough. But I thought 100 km was the required height, i.e. 62 miles .. ? 

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The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner

Ad Astra

Member

Registered: 2003-02-02

Posts: 584

Re: Eight X-15 Pilots

The distinction rests upon whose definition of space we use...

The Air Force awards astroanut wings for flights to 50 miles, while the FAI defines space as the region above 62 miles (100 km.)  In the X-15 program, only Joe Walker would have been an astronaut according to FAI rules.  Although Air Force pilots were given recognition for their 50+ mile flights, NASA pilots were not.

I would tend to side with the Air Force in terms of awarding astronaut wings, because an aircraft produces very little lift at 50 miles and must be flying on rocket power.  However, even the 100 km mark is too low for achieving a useful, long-lived orbit.

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Who needs Michael Griffin when you can have Peter Griffin?  Catch "Family Guy" Sunday nights on FOX.