Chronological Order of ALL First Flights
for qualifying astronauts, cosmonauts, and yuhanguans
What is an astronaut? Someone who has been to space? But then, just what is space? According to the United States Air Force, space begins at an altitude of 50 statute miles (80.4672 km). In the United States, this is generally accepted. The FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale), the governing body for air sports, has established space beginning at 100 km--- the Kármán line. While even this is somewhat arbitrary, this is generally the most accepted definition for the beginning of space. The WorldSpaceFlight Blog briefly discussed this in a May 2022 post, Where does space begin? Regardless, we currently have competing criteria of (approx.) 80 and 100 km, 100 km being the most acceptable worldwide.
The next question to be asked is this: Is reaching a designated altitude the only stipulation to qualify as an astronaut? In the eyes of the editor of WorldSpaceFlight.com, the answer is "No." A genuine astronaut must have extensive training and preperation for his/her possible flights. Some people may train for months or years, but for one reason or another never actually qualify for astronaut wings. This editor considers people who have worked and trained for spaceflight, even if never actually obtaining their astronaut wings, to be more entitled to recognition than a 10-15 minute passive participant on a thrill ride.
Neonaut -A person with little to no training who rides a craft to an altitude of 50 miles or higher for a couple minutes so they can claim to be an astronaut
This page is what WorldSpaceFlight considers a legitimate "first flight" list of genuine astronauts (or cosmonauts and yuhanguans). Some of these people actually have their first flight aboard what would ordinarily be considered a neonaut thrill ride. Thiese would include the pilots and copilots of such flights. These people train for years and have years of experience. They are also in control of the craft. There is at least one instance of a person who trained and served as backup to an orbital astronaut. Another is Mary "Wally" Funk, one of several ladies denied the astronaut experience because they were women.
Page last modified: 16 April 2025 17:32:23.
