What's an astronaut?

[Morrus]

Is it anybody who travels into space?

As private spaceflights launch, who gets to be called an astronaut?

Astronauts? Amateur astronauts? Space tourists? Space sightseers? Rocket riders? What do we call the new generation of space travelers?

www.king5.com

Are airplane passengers aviators? Are cruise ship passengers sailors? Are those analogies even appropriate?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Is it anybody who travels into space?


Are airplane passengers aviators? Are cruise ship passengers sailors? Are those analogies even appropriate?

First ... cosmonaut. Let's use the Russian. So much cooler.

It is from the root of star + sailor (astronaut) or galaxy + sailor (cosmonaut). So I think the analogy with sailors holds true; just like Jason had the Argonauts, you wouldn't call a mere passenger who went into space a member of the crew (a sailor).

So my answer is this- at this time, a person who travels into space, but is not a member of the crew is ... rich. Very, very rich.

 

[Ryujin]

I say go with "passengers", like the movie title.

 

[Morrus]

First ... cosmonaut. Let's use the Russian. So much cooler.

It is from the root of star + sailor (astronaut) or galaxy + sailor (cosmonaut). So I think the analogy with sailors holds true; just like Jason had the Argonauts, you wouldn't call a mere passenger who went into space a member of the crew (a sailor).

So my answer is this- at this time, a person who travels into space, but is not a member of the crew is ... rich. Very, very rich.

What about a NASA scientist who travels to the ISS but does not sail or fly the rocket? Or a civilian scientist who does similar?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

What about a NASA scientist who travels to the ISS but does not sail or fly the rocket? Or a civilian scientist who does similar?

To put on my more serious cap-

I would say that anyone who is a member of the working crew of the ISS (for example) is an astronaut/cosmonaut. Otherwise, you are trying to distinguish the various members of the working crew, all of whom are "astronauts."

Anyone who just happens to be in space (whether it is because they bought a ticket for tourism purposes, or are a stowaway, or were passengers in a plane that went really really high, or just happened to misunderstand how powerful that catapult was) is not an astronaut.

In the end, however, I am a descriptivist, and the language will be whatever it will be.

 

[Ryujin]

What about a NASA scientist who travels to the ISS but does not sail or fly the rocket? Or a civilian scientist who does similar?

They're generally given other duties, also, as there can't be any dead weight on such a flight. It's typically something like "payload specialist" so if someone who handles cargo on a ship is a sailor, then so are they astronauts.

 

[Morrus]

To put on my more serious cap-

I would say that anyone who is a member of the working crew of the ISS (for example) is an astronaut/cosmonaut. Otherwise, you are trying to distinguish the various members of the working crew, all of whom are "astronauts."

Anyone who just happens to be in space (whether it is because they bought a ticket for tourism purposes, or are a stowaway, or were passengers in a plane that went really really high, or just happened to misunderstand how powerful that catapult was) is not an astronaut.

In the end, however, I am a descriptivist, and the language will be whatever it will be.

So it’s whether they’re paid to be there or not?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

So it’s whether they’re paid to be there or not?

I mean ... I don't think the guy who misunderstood the physics of the catapult paid for that. Of course, there might have been some issue with the physics of it ... probably have to determine whether his individual body parts qualify as "astronauts."

But no, that's not the dividing line- I mentioned stowaways are not normally considered astronauts (nor would they be "sailors"). It's whether you're a part of the working crew.

At some point in the future, as space travel becomes even more normalized, there might more distinctions. For example, I don't think that the entire working crew of a cruise ship are considered sailors. But at this time, given the customary usage of the term that has traditionally encompassed all those who are part of the working crew going into space (given that the spaces are at a premium, and even those who have been provided space before, such as the (in?)famous example of Christa McAuliffe, were provided training and duties to perform as part of the crew, which differentiates them from passengers/stowaways, or people that otherwise would have no responsibility whatsoever for the "craft" (either the rocket or the station).

 

[Morrus]

I mean ... I don't think the guy who misunderstood the physics of the catapult paid for that.

I think you misread me - whether they’re paid to be there, not whether they’ve paid to be there.

I.e. whether it’s their job.

 

[DemoMonkey]

A combination of "working crew" and "paid to be there".

So unpaid robots, synthetics and plain old slaves - even if they are working members of the crew -would not qualify.