Editing Astronaut (section)

==Terminology==
{{See also|Astronaut ranks and positions}}

In 1959, when both the United States and [[Soviet Union]] were planning, but had yet to launch humans into space, [[NASA]] Administrator [[T. Keith Glennan]] and his Deputy Administrator, [[Hugh Latimer Dryden|Hugh Dryden]], discussed whether spacecraft crew members should be called ''astronauts'' or ''cosmonauts''. Dryden preferred "cosmonaut", on the grounds that flights would occur in and to the broader ''[[cosmos]]'', while the "astro" prefix suggested flight specifically to the [[star]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of the Space Age|author=Paul Dickson|publisher=JHU Press|date=2009|page=27|isbn=9780801895043|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=afKBvKlg0-EC&pg=PA27}}</ref> Most NASA [[Space Task Group]] members preferred "astronaut", which survived by common usage as the preferred American term.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dethloff |first=Henry C. |title=Suddenly Tomorrow Came... A History of the Johnson Space Center |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |year=1993 |author-link=Henry C. Dethloff |pages=23–24 |chapter=Chapter 2: The Commitment to Space |isbn=978-1502753588 |chapter-url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/suddenly_tomorrow/suddenly.htm |archive-date=31 January 2009 |access-date=19 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131081956/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/suddenly_tomorrow/suddenly.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> When the Soviet Union launched the first man into space, [[Yuri Gagarin]] in 1961, they chose a term which [[Anglicization|anglicizes]] to "cosmonaut".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

===Astronaut===
[[File:Astronaut Groups 1 and 2 - S63-01419.jpg|thumb|right|The first sixteen NASA astronauts to be selected, February 1963. Back row: [[Edward H. White|White]], [[Jim McDivitt|McDivitt]], [[John Young (astronaut)|Young]], [[Elliot See|See]], [[Pete Conrad|Conrad]], [[Frank Borman|Borman]], [[Neil Armstrong|Armstrong]], [[Thomas P. Stafford|Stafford]], [[Jim Lovell|Lovell]]. Front row: [[L. Gordon Cooper|Cooper]], [[Gus Grissom|Grissom]], [[Scott Carpenter|Carpenter]], [[Wally Schirra|Schirra]], [[John Glenn|Glenn]], [[Alan Shepard|Shepard]], [[Deke Slayton|Slayton]].]]

A professional space traveler is called an ''astronaut''.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.thespacerace.com/glossary/index.php?term=54 |title = TheSpaceRace.com – Glossary of Space Exploration Terminology |access-date=28 December 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080105031754/http://www.thespacerace.com/glossary/index.php?term=54 |archive-date=5 January 2008|url-status=dead }}</ref> The first known use of the term "astronaut" in the modern sense was by [[Neil R. Jones]] in his 1930 short story "The Death's Head Meteor". The word itself had been known earlier; for example, in [[Percy Greg]]'s 1880 book ''[[Across the Zodiac]]'', "astronaut" referred to a spacecraft. In ''[[Les Navigateurs de l'infini]]'' (1925) by [[J.-H. Rosny aîné]], the word ''astronautique'' ([[astronautics]]) was used. The word may have been inspired by "aeronaut", an older term for an air traveler first applied in 1784 to [[balloon (aircraft)|balloon]]ists. An early use of "astronaut" in a non-fiction publication is [[Eric Frank Russell]]'s poem "The Astronaut", appearing in the November 1934 ''Bulletin of the [[British Interplanetary Society]]''.<ref>Ingham, John L.: ''Into Your Tent'', Plantech (2010): page 82.</ref>

The first known formal use of the term [[astronautics]] in the scientific community was the establishment of the annual [[International Astronautical Congress]] in 1950, and the subsequent founding of the [[International Astronautical Federation]] the following year.<ref name="IAFpage">{{cite web|title=IAF History |publisher=[[International Astronautical Federation]] |author=IAF |date=16 August 2010 |url=http://www.iafastro.org/index.html?title=History |access-date=16 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719102624/https://www.iafastro.org/index.html?title=History |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref>

[[NASA]] applies the term astronaut to any crew member aboard NASA spacecraft bound for Earth orbit or beyond. NASA also uses the term as a title for those selected to join its [[NASA Astronaut Corps|Astronaut Corps]].<ref name="biopage">{{cite web |last = Dismukes |first = Kim – NASA Biography Page Curator |title = Astronaut Biographies |publisher = [[Johnson Space Center]], NASA |date = 15 December 2005 |url = http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/ |access-date = 6 March 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070307132816/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/ |archive-date= 7 March 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[European Space Agency]] similarly uses the term astronaut for members of its [[European Astronaut Corps|Astronaut Corps]].<ref name="ESApage">{{cite web |title = The European Astronaut Corps |publisher = [[ESA]] |author=ESA |date = 10 April 2008 |url = http://www.esa.int/esaHS/ESA75G0VMOC_astronauts_0.html |access-date = 28 December 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081220054618/http://www.esa.int/esaHS/ESA75G0VMOC_astronauts_0.html |archive-date= 20 December 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Cosmonaut===
[[File:RIAN archive 888102 Soviet cosmonauts.jpg|thumb|The first eleven Soviet cosmonauts to fly, July 1965. Back row, left to right: [[Alexei Leonov|Leonov]], [[Gherman Titov|Titov]], [[Valery Bykovsky|Bykovsky]], [[Boris Yegorov|Yegorov]], [[Pavel Popovich|Popovich]]; front row: [[Vladimir Komarov|Komarov]], [[Yuri Gagarin|Gagarin]], [[Valentina Tereshkova|Tereshkova]], [[Andriyan Nikolayev|Nikolayev]], [[Konstantin Feoktistov|Feoktistov]], [[Pavel Belyayev|Belyayev]].]]
{{Main|Soviet space program}}
{{Main list|List of cosmonauts}}

By convention, an astronaut employed by the [[Russian Federal Space Agency]] (or its predecessor, the [[Soviet space program]]) is called a ''cosmonaut'' in English texts.<ref name="biopage" /> The word is an [[Anglicization]] of ''kosmonavt'' ({{langx|ru|link=no|космонавт}} {{IPA|ru|kəsmɐˈnaft}}).<ref name = "space traveller">{{cite book |last1 = Kotlyakov |first1 = Vladimir |last2 = Komarova |first2 = Anna |title = Elsevier's Dictionary of Geography: in English, Russian, French, Spanish and German |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6DhWw_cYLicC | year = 2006| publisher = Elsevier |isbn = 978-0-08-048878-3 | page = 49}}</ref> Other countries of the former [[Eastern Bloc]] use variations of the Russian kosmonavt, such as the {{langx|pl|kosmonauta}} (although [[Polish people|Poles]] also used {{lang|pl|astronauta}}, and the two words are considered synonyms).<ref>{{cite web |title = Astronauta a kosmonauta |publisher = [[Polish Scientific Publishers PWN|PWN]] |author = Katarzyna Kłosińska, University of Warsaw |date = 16 December 2016 |url = https://sjp.pwn.pl/poradnia/haslo/Astronauta-a-kosmonauta;17329.html |access-date = 6 April 2019 |archive-date = 27 August 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230827223036/https://sjp.pwn.pl/poradnia/haslo/Astronauta-a-kosmonauta;17329.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

Coinage of the term {{lang|ru|космонавт}} has been credited to Soviet aeronautics (or "[[cosmonautics]]") pioneer [[Mikhail Tikhonravov]] (1900–1974).<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Brzezinski |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew Brzezinski |year=2007 |title=Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries That Ignited the Space Age |location=New York |publisher=Henry Holt & Co. |page=108 |isbn=978-0-8050-8147-3 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |first = Mike |last = Gruntman |author-link = Mike Gruntman |year=2004 |title = Blazing the Trail: The Early History of Spacecraft and Rocketry |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2XY9KXxF8OEC&pg=PA326 |location=Reston, VA |publisher=[[AIAA]] |page=326 |isbn=9781563477058 }}</ref> The first cosmonaut was [[Soviet Air Force]] pilot [[Yuri Gagarin]], also the first person in space. He was part of the first six Soviet citizens, with [[German Titov]], [[Yevgeny Khrunov]], [[Andriyan Nikolayev]], [[Pavel Popovich]], and [[Grigoriy Nelyubov]], who were given the title of pilot-cosmonaut in January 1961.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zk_MkKERUokC&pg=332 |title=Russia's Cosmonauts: Inside the Yuri Gagarin Training Center |last1=Hall|first1=Rex D.|last2=David|first2=Shayler|last3=Vis|first3=Bert|date=5 October 2007 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9780387739755}}</ref> [[Valentina Tereshkova]] was the first female cosmonaut and the first and youngest [[Women in space|woman to have flown in space]] with a solo mission on the [[Vostok 6]] in 1963.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/11871598/Russia-forgot-to-send-toothbrush-with-first-woman-in-space.html |title=Russia forgot to send toothbrush with first woman in space |last=Knapton |first=Sarah |newspaper=Daily Telegraph |date=17 September 2015 |access-date=16 June 2019 |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=24 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324104013/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/11871598/Russia-forgot-to-send-toothbrush-with-first-woman-in-space.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On 14 March 1995,<ref>{{cite book |url = https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/references/documents/mirfinal.pdf#page=61 |title = Mir Mission Chronicle: November 1994 – August 1996 |last = McDonald |first = Sue |date = December 1998 |publisher = NASA |pages = 52–53 |id = NASA/TP-98-207890 |access-date = 16 June 2019 |archive-date = 16 July 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190716183315/https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/references/documents/mirfinal.pdf#page=61 |url-status = dead }}</ref> [[Norman Thagard]] became the first American to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle, and thus became the first "American cosmonaut".<ref>{{cite news |title = Illustrious alumnus: Former astronaut Thagard recounts thrills of spaceflight |url = https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/articles/year-2017/former-astronaut-alumnus-thagard.html |website = www.utsouthwestern.edu |publisher = Utsouthwestern.edu |date = 4 October 2017 |access-date = 18 August 2019 |archive-date = 18 August 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190818063030/https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/articles/year-2017/former-astronaut-alumnus-thagard.html |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Astronaut-Physician Counting Down to Blastoff Aboard Russian Craft : Shuttle: Dr. Norman Thagard will become the first American to leave the Earth aboard a Soyuz rocket. Mission will take them to the Mir space station. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-22-mn-22879-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=22 January 1995 |archive-date=18 August 2019 |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818063027/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-22-mn-22879-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Taikonaut===
[[File:Taikonauts 2010 Somalia stamps.jpg|thumb|The first Chinese taikonauts on a 2010 Somalia stamp]]
{{Main|People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps|China Manned Space Program}}
{{Main list|List of Chinese astronauts}}

In Chinese, the term {{lang|zh-Latn|Yǔ háng yuán}} ({{lang|zh-cn|宇航员}}, "cosmos navigating personnel") is used for astronauts and cosmonauts in general,<ref name="rus">{{cite web |url = http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceka/rus/xwdt/t216370.htm |trans-title = Yang Liwei, the first Chinese astronaut who has made China's first manned space flight |title = Ян Ливэй – первый китайский космонавт, совершивший первый в Китае пилотируемый космический полет |date=13 October 2005 |access-date=4 October 2007 |website = fmprc.gov.cn |language=ru |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929125754/http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceka/rus/xwdt/t216370.htm |archive-date=29 September 2007 }}</ref><ref name="rus2">{{cite web |url = http://ru.china-embassy.org/rus/xwdt/t73142.htm |title = Chinese embassy in Russia press-release |access-date=4 October 2007 |website = ru.china-embassy.org |language=ru |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927002145/http://ru.china-embassy.org/rus/xwdt/t73142.htm |archive-date= 27 September 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> while {{lang|zh-Latn|hángtiān yuán}} ({{lang|zh-CN|航天员}}, "navigating celestial-heaven personnel") is used for Chinese astronauts. Here, {{lang|zh-Latn|hángtiān}} ({{lang|zh-CN|航天}}, literally "heaven-navigating", or [[spaceflight]]) is strictly<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Axiom-1 crew launches today—are these guys tourists, astronauts, or what? – Ars Technica OpenForum |url=https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1483555&start=120 |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=arstechnica.com| date=8 April 2022 }}</ref> defined as the navigation of [[outer space]] within the local [[star system]], i.e. [[Solar System]]. The phrase {{lang|zh-Latn|tàikōng rén}} ({{lang|zh|太空人}}, "spaceman") is often used in Hong Kong and [[Taiwan]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php?define=%E5%A4%AA%E7%A9%BA%E4%BA%BA |title = 太空人 : astronaut... : tài kōng rén &#124; Definition &#124; Mandarin Chinese Pinyin English Dictionary &#124; Yabla Chinese |website = chinese.yabla.com |access-date = 7 August 2015 |archive-date = 3 September 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150903181737/https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php?define=%E5%A4%AA%E7%A9%BA%E4%BA%BA |url-status = live }}</ref>

The term ''taikonaut'' is used by some English-language news media organizations for professional [[Chinese space program|space travelers from China]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/26/content_7500262.htm |title = Chinese taikonaut dismisses environment worries about new space launch center |date=26 January 2008 |access-date=25 September 2008 |publisher=China View |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081003201652/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/26/content_7500262.htm |archive-date= 3 October 2008 |url-status = dead }}</ref> The word has featured in the [[Longman]] and [[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford English]] dictionaries, and the term became more common in 2003 when China sent its first astronaut [[Yang Liwei]] into space aboard the ''[[Shenzhou 5]]'' spacecraft.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/25/content_10111749.htm |title = "Taikonauts" a sign of China's growing global influence |date=25 September 2008 |access-date=25 September 2008 |work=China View |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080928044453/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/25/content_10111749.htm |archive-date=28 September 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This is the term used by [[Xinhua News Agency]] in the English version of the Chinese ''[[People's Daily]]'' since the advent of the Chinese space program.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90881/6507790.html |title=Chinese taikonaut debuts spacewalk |access-date=28 September 2008 |website=People's Daily Online |author=Xinhua |year=2008|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080930071226/http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90881/6507790.html |archive-date= 30 September 2008 |url-status= live}}</ref> The origin of the term is unclear; as early as May 1998, Chiew Lee Yih ({{lang|zh-Hant|趙裡昱}}) from [[Malaysia]] used it in [[Usenet newsgroup|newsgroups]].<ref name="chiew">{{cite web |first = Lee Yih |last = Chiew |date = 19 May 1998 |title = Google search of "taikonaut" sort by date |url = https://groups.google.com/groups/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=taikonaut&btnG=Search&as_mind=1&as_minm=1&as_miny=1981&as_maxd=24&as_maxm=5&as_maxy=1998&as_drrb=b&sitesearch= |work = Usenet posting |publisher = Chiew Lee Yih |access-date = 27 September 2008 |archive-date = 26 August 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130826104919/http://groups.google.com/groups/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=taikonaut&btnG=Search&as_mind=1&as_minm=1&as_miny=1981&as_maxd=24&as_maxm=5&as_maxy=1998&as_drrb=b&sitesearch= |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="chiew2">{{cite web |first = Lee Yih |last = Chiew |date = 10 March 1996 |title = Chiew Lee Yih misspelled "taikonaut" 2 years before it first appear |url = https://groups.google.com/group/alt.chinese.text/browse_thread/thread/a7f02b9489c59c5b/dd9e7a1b78d7d5c7?hl=en&lnk=st&q=taikonout#dd9e7a1b78d7d5c7 |work = Usenet posting |publisher = Chiew Lee Yih |access-date = 27 September 2008 |archive-date = 16 February 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090216093802/http://groups.google.com/group/alt.chinese.text/browse_thread/thread/a7f02b9489c59c5b/dd9e7a1b78d7d5c7?hl=en&lnk=st&q=taikonout#dd9e7a1b78d7d5c7 |url-status = live }}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=November 2024}}

===Other terms===
With the rise of [[space tourism]], [[NASA]] and the [[Russian Federal Space Agency]] agreed to use the term "[[spaceflight participant]]" to distinguish those space travelers from professional astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies.

[[File:Expedition 47 Soyuz TMA-19M Landing (NHQ201606180038).jpg|thumb|right|[[Finnish American]] astronaut [[Timothy Kopra]]]]
While no nation other than Russia (and previously the Soviet Union), the United States, and China have launched a crewed spacecraft, several other nations have sent people into space in cooperation with one of these countries, e.g. the Soviet-led [[Interkosmos]] program. Inspired partly by these missions, other synonyms for astronaut have entered occasional English usage. For example, the term ''spationaut'' ({{langx|fr|link=no|spationaute}}) is sometimes used to describe French space travelers, from the [[Latin]] word {{lang|la|spatium}} for "space"; the [[Malay language|Malay]] term {{lang|ms|angkasawan}} (deriving from ''[[Akasha|angkasa]]'' meaning 'space') was used to describe participants in the [[Angkasawan program]] (note its similarity with the [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] term ''antariksawan''). Plans of the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] to launch its crewed [[Gaganyaan]] spacecraft have spurred at times public discussion if another term than ''astronaut'' should be used for the crew members, suggesting ''vyomanaut'' (from the [[Sanskrit]] word {{lang|sa-Latn|vyoman}} meaning 'sky' or 'space') or ''gagannaut'' (from the Sanskrit word {{lang|sa-Latn|gagan}} for 'sky').<ref name="Ananthaswamy 2010">{{cite web | last=Ananthaswamy | first=Anil | title=Wanted: four 'vyomanauts' for Indian spaceflight | website=New Scientist | date=January 5, 2010 | url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18338-wanted-four-vyomanauts-for-indian-spaceflight/ | access-date=February 20, 2022 | archive-date=20 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220191920/https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18338-wanted-four-vyomanauts-for-indian-spaceflight/amp/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mukunth 2018">{{cite web | last=Mukunth | first=Vasudevan | title=Infinite in All Directions: A Science Workshop and Why Vyomanaut Is Not Cool | website=The Wire | date=August 23, 2018 | url=https://m.thewire.in/article/the-sciences/infinite-in-all-directions-a-science-workshop-and-why-vyomanaut-is-not-cool | access-date=February 20, 2022 | archive-date=20 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220191922/https://m.thewire.in/article/the-sciences/infinite-in-all-directions-a-science-workshop-and-why-vyomanaut-is-not-cool | url-status=live }}</ref> In [[Finland]], the NASA astronaut [[Timothy Kopra]], a [[Finnish Americans|Finnish American]], has sometimes been referred to as {{lang|fi|sisunautti}}, from the [[Finnish language|Finnish]] word {{lang|fi|[[sisu]]}}.<ref>{{cite web | title = "Sisunautti" haaveilee uudesta Suomen-matkasta | publisher = [[MTV3]] | author = MTV Uutiset | date = 1 November 2009 | url = https://www.mtv.fi/uutiset/ulkomaat/artikkeli/sisunautti-haaveilee-uudesta-suomen-matkasta/2174370#gs.XWGxvao | access-date = 10 April 2018 | archive-date = 16 August 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180816195043/https://www.mtv.fi/uutiset/ulkomaat/artikkeli/sisunautti-haaveilee-uudesta-suomen-matkasta/2174370#gs.XWGxvao | url-status = dead }}</ref> Across Germanic languages, the word for "astronaut" typically translates to "space traveler", as it does with German's ''Raumfahrer'', Dutch's ''ruimtevaarder'', Swedish's ''rymdfarare'', and Norwegian's ''romfarer''.

For its [[2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group|2022 Astronaut Group]], the European Space Agency envisioned recruiting an astronaut with a physical disability, a category they called "parastronauts", with the intention but not guarantee of spaceflight.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Parastronaut feasibility project|url=https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/ESA_Astronaut_Selection/Parastronaut_feasibility_project|access-date=18 February 2021|website=[[ESA]]|archive-date=16 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216114610/https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/ESA_Astronaut_Selection/Parastronaut_feasibility_project|url-status=live}}</ref> The categories of disability considered for the program were individuals with lower limb deficiency (either through amputation or congenital), leg length difference, or a short stature (less than {{convert|130|cm|ftin|disp=or}}).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Parsonson|first=Andrew|url=https://spacenews.com/parastronaut-sought-as-esa-recruits-its-first-new-astronauts-in-more-than-a-decade/|title='Parastronaut' sought as ESA recruits its first new astronauts in more than a decade|website=[[SpaceNews]]|date=16 February 2021|access-date=23 November 2022}}</ref> On 23 November 2022, [[John McFall (athlete)|John McFall]] was selected to be the first ESA parastronaut;<ref>{{cite web|last=Amos|first=Jonathan|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63730022|title=Disabled man joins European Space Agency's astronaut programme|work=[[BBC News]]|date=23 November 2022|access-date=23 November 2022|archive-date=23 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123154013/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63730022|url-status=live}}</ref> he has rejected the use of the term.<ref>{{cite web|website=[[The Guardian]] |last1=Devlin |first1=Hannah |title=British Paralympian is first person with physical disability cleared for space mission |date=14 February 2025 |access-date=17 March 2025 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/feb/14/british-paralympian-first-person-physical-disability-space-mission }}</ref>

As of 2021 in the United States, astronaut status is conferred on a person depending on the authorizing agency:
* one who flies in a vehicle above {{convert|50|mi}} for NASA or the military is considered an ''astronaut'' (with no qualifier)
* one who flies in a vehicle to the International Space Station in a mission coordinated by NASA and [[Roscosmos]] is a ''spaceflight participant''
* one who flies above {{convert|50|mi}} in a non-NASA vehicle as a crewmember and demonstrates activities during flight that are essential to public safety, or contribute to human space flight safety, is considered a ''commercial astronaut'' by the [[Federal Aviation Administration]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Commercial Astronaut Wings Program |url=https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/programs/astronaut_wings/ |website=United States Department of Transportation |publisher=Office of Commercial Space Transportation |access-date=16 July 2019 |archive-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716015139/https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/programs/astronaut_wings/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* one who flies to the International Space Station as part of a "privately funded, dedicated commercial spaceflight on a commercial launch vehicle dedicated to the mission ... to conduct approved commercial and marketing activities on the space station (or in a commercial segment attached to the station)" is considered a ''private astronaut'' by NASA<ref>{{cite web |last1=Elburn |first1=Darcy |title=Private Astronaut Missions |url=https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/private-astronaut-missions |website=nasa.gov |date=29 May 2019 |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |access-date=16 July 2019 |archive-date=14 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614124620/https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/private-astronaut-missions/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> (as of 2020, nobody has yet qualified for this status)
* a generally-accepted but unofficial term for a paying non-crew passenger who flies a private non-NASA or military vehicles above {{convert|50|mi}} is a ''space tourist'' (as of 2020{{update inline|date=January 2023}}, nobody has yet qualified for this status{{Dubious|date=April 2025}})

On July 20, 2021, the FAA issued an order redefining the eligibility criteria to be an astronaut in response to the private suborbital spaceflights of [[Jeff Bezos]] and [[Richard Branson]].<ref>{{cite web |title=FAA Order 8800.2 |url=https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/FAA_Order_8800.2.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/FAA_Order_8800.2.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |website=Federal Aviation Administration |access-date=30 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rivera |first1=Josh |title=Sorry, Jeff Bezos, you're still not an astronaut, according to the FAA |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/07/25/jeff-bezos-federal-aviation-administration-astronaut-wings/8087596002/ |access-date=30 July 2021 |work=USA Today |date=July 25, 2021 |archive-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729092720/https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/07/25/jeff-bezos-federal-aviation-administration-astronaut-wings/8087596002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The new criteria states that one must have "[d]emonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to
human space flight safety" to qualify as an astronaut. This new definition excludes Bezos and Branson.