The US has tightened its definition of the word “astronaut”, and it doesn’t include billionaire space explorers

The US’ New Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has updated its rules to be an astronaut you must be part of a flight crew and make contributions to space flight safety.

This means that officially, billionaire space travellers like Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson may not actually be astronauts despite their trips beyond earth.

The changes come as the first amendment to the FAA Wings programme since it began in 2004. The FAA announced the updates on Tuesday, the same day that Bezos went to the edge of space aboard a Blue Origin rocket.

How does a billionaire become an astronaut?

In order to qualify as a ‘commercial astronaut’, you must travel 80km above the Earth’s surface – a feat which Branson and Bezos both successfully accomplished.

However, the FAA also says that to be considered an astronaut, space-travellers must also have “demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety”.

For the FAA to award a space-traveller their ‘commercial wings’ as an astronaut, they also need someone to nominate them for the position. Americans can also become an astronaut through the US military or NASA.

The FAA says that the changes better align the Wings Scheme with its role in protecting public safety during commercial space flights.

Snapchat’s parent company has continued to see record growth – and profit – of the platform

Just a couple of years ago, there were concerns that Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, wouldn’t survive as a standalone company, but the social media platform is growing faster than it has since 2017.

The camera-based messaging app stated it added 13 million daily users during the second quarter of this year – a 23 percent increase from the same time a year ago.

That means 293 million people use Snapchat every day around the world, up from 173 million this time four years ago.

Snapchat’s revenue has also soared 116 percent to $982 million – making it a faster growing business than Twitter or Facebook

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has said he expects the app’s user base to actually grow faster as pandemic lockdowns end, since Snapchat is designed to be used out and about with friends.

Australia’s Star Entertainment Group has ditched a bid to merge with Crown Resorts

In the latest showdown in the battle for the Aussie Casinos – Star proposed a merger bid back in May worth $12 billion.

Star Entertainment operates casinos in Sydney, Gold Coast, and Brisbane while Crown operates venues in Melbourne and Perth, while a built casino in Sydney hasn’t been granted permission to open.

The Star merger with Crown would have created an Australian gaming and hospitality giant with a total market value of $12 billion AUD.

Crown shares dive following Star’s announcement

Shares fell as much as 4.2% in early trading today, cleaving its market value to $6.7 billion.

Star, which is best known for its casino in Sydney, said it “remains open to exploring potential value-enhancing opportunities with Crown,” though engagement with Crown on the merger plan had been “limited.” It said it will closely monitor the outcome of the Melbourne investigation, as well as a concurrent probe into Crown’s Perth casino.

In a separate statement, Crown said it remains “willing to engage” with Star in relation to a potential merger. “The board is committed to maximizing value for all Crown shareholders and will carefully consider any proposal that is consistent with this objective,” it said.