“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump wrote in a post on social media.

    • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      How about running scientific payloads and testing new EVA suits? The Polaris Dawn missions are absolutely not joyrides like we’ve seen other billionaires do.

    • Aphelion@lemm.ee
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      22 days ago

      The definition of an astronaut:

      “The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed the Kármán line, at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 mi). In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 80 kilometres (50 mi) are awarded astronaut wings.”

      So yes, that does make him an astronaut.