Sure, but he was the very first person to ever fly in space so that definitely counts for something. Additionally, he could control the spacecraft if there was an emergency.
The first ‘astronauts’ were “spam in a can.” Yuri Garagin didn’t have any controls in his craft, nor did the first few American astronauts. An ‘astronaut’ is anyone who has gone more than 60 miles up. And yes, if you have been in an airplane you can call yourself a ‘flier.’
Did they travel in a spacecraft, and did they recieve the necessary training to do so?
Not all astronauts pilot the spacecraft, and most going to eg. the ISS don’t actually do anything while going to the station. That trip is also just an automated flight, controlled by the onboard computer.
It’s more akin to, “if that makes them astronauts, then people who have traveled on an airplane, has recieved the training to travel in an airplane.”
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Yuri Gagarin’s flight was entirely automated. He went a bit higher and made a full orbit, but I’m pretty sure everyone agrees he’s an astronaut.
He was a cosmonaut, so jot that down.
… the best kind of correct…
Sure, but he was the very first person to ever fly in space so that definitely counts for something. Additionally, he could control the spacecraft if there was an emergency.
And he was trained to do so.
“If my Grandmother had wheels she would have been a bike” --Gino D’Acampo
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The first ‘astronauts’ were “spam in a can.” Yuri Garagin didn’t have any controls in his craft, nor did the first few American astronauts. An ‘astronaut’ is anyone who has gone more than 60 miles up. And yes, if you have been in an airplane you can call yourself a ‘flier.’
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What’s the actual difference? Any history book will confirm that Gagarin had as much control of his craft as Katy Perry or Enos the chimp did.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_X-15
The pilots of the X-15 flew into space and landed their craft.
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No, he wasn’t, because there were no controls for him to use.
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TIL.
None of that changes the fact that the original definition of ‘astronaut’ was anyone who traveled into space [60 miles up] as a pilot or passenger.
Did they travel in a spacecraft, and did they recieve the necessary training to do so?
Not all astronauts pilot the spacecraft, and most going to eg. the ISS don’t actually do anything while going to the station. That trip is also just an automated flight, controlled by the onboard computer.
It’s more akin to, “if that makes them astronauts, then people who have traveled on an airplane, has recieved the training to travel in an airplane.”