Which two organizations are noted in the text as historically defining spaceflight altitude using the 50-mile benchmark?
Answer
U.S. Air Force/NASA
The 50-mile altitude benchmark used by the FAA for its domestic commercial astronaut wings was historically derived from or aligned with the standards utilized by established government aerospace organizations. Specifically, the text identifies the U.S. Air Force and NASA as the entities whose definition of spaceflight historically employed this 50-mile measure. This domestic standard allowed astronauts like Richard Branson, who flew slightly above 50 miles, to qualify for the wings, even though they remained below the higher Kármán line adopted internationally.
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