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From: patc@tekcrl.UUCP (Pat Caudill)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Altitude of "space"
Message-ID: <460@tekcrl.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 19-Jan-86 19:03:15 EST
Article-I.D.: tekcrl.460
Posted: Sun Jan 19 19:03:15 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 21-Jan-86 07:29:41 EST
References: <8512312026.AA15784@s1-b.arpa> <70@dg_rtp.UUCP>
Reply-To: patc@tekcrl.UUCP (Pat Caudill)
Distribution: net
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 14

In article <173@cfa.UUCP> mink@cfa.UUCP (Doug Mink) writes:
>
>In the early 60's, an altitude of 50 miles was recognized as the
>beginning of space for the purpose of earning Astronaut wings, which I
>believe were awarded to several X-15 pilots as well as to Mercury,

	Tom Wolf tells a funny story about this in "The Right Stuff".
Apparently only military pilots (of the X-15) could get astronaut
wings for going over 50miles. The civilian test pilot who first
acheived this distinction was turned down, but the other test pilots
took him down to Pancho's bar and after due ceremony awarded him a
large pair of gold paper wings with "ASSTRONAUT" written on them.

			tektronix!tekcrl!patc