[T-Bone Texan]

In my youth I read that the beginning of space was around 300,000 feet.

[Robert A Cook PE]

I believe you are considered an astronaut at greater than 100,000 feet for the record books. U-2 might have gotten there, a few SR71 flights, altitude record attempts by the X15 got astronaut qual’ed.

So that free-fall balloonist also got his astronaut “wings” .. Star maybe?