Through a conversation with then NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and associate administrator of the Space Operations mission directorate, William F. Readdy, I hoped to remedy the situation. This conversation took place in 2004, just weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration had awarded astronaut wings to civilian pilots Brian Binnie and Michael W. Melvill of Scaled Composites Inc. for their flights in SpaceShipOne. Both O'Keefe and Readdy agreed it would be appropriate to recognize the three NASA X-15 pilots for their achievements.
During the conversation, I mentioned the discrepancy between NASA's and the military's definition of "astronaut." The first issue was whether to select 50 or 62 miles as a defining altitude; Readdy selected 50 miles to eliminate any inconsistency between military and civilian pilots flying the same vehicle.
Beyond that, a major stumbling block in recognizing the X-15 pilots as astronauts had been, according to lore, the wishes of the Astronaut Office at the Johnson Space Center. To determine how the office actually felt about the issue and in an effort to resolve any potential concerns, I turned to Col. Michael J. Bloomfield, the Astronaut Office operations officer. Bloomer, as Mike is known, had flown on three space shuttle flights. Readdy also had flown three times. They seemed appropriate ambassadors. Between the two of them they smoothed the way; the chief of the Astronaut Office, Capt. Kent V. Rominger, subsequently agreed that recognizing the three NASA X-15 pilots would be appropriate and offered his assistance in the matter.
Figuring out exactly how to honor the pilots proved trickier. NASA does not issue metal astronaut wings, and has no official policy on the subject. In the end, it was decided that each pilot – McKay and Walker posthumously – would receive a set of the cloth-and-leather nametags worn by space shuttle astronauts on their flight suits, along with a certificate signed by Readdy, Rominger and Kevin L. Petersen, director of the Dryden Flight Research Center. Forty years after their groundbreaking achievements in the X-15 rocket plane, the three pilots finally got the recognition they deserved.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/X-Press/stories/2005/102105_Schneider.htmlThey recognise non-NASA Americans who have been into space as astronauts, so continued employment by NASA is not the qualification.
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