Astronaut Badge < onlyinclude > The Astronaut Badge is a badge of the United States , awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful spaceflight . A variation of the astronaut badge is also issued to civilians who are employed with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as specialists on spaceflight missions . Eligibility . To earn an astronaut badge , a military officer must complete all required training and participate in a space flight more than 100 kilometers ( 62 miles ) above the Earth . This boundary , known as the Kármán line , comes from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale . However , in the 1960s , the United States Department of Defense awarded astronaut badges to military and civilian pilots who flew aircraft higher than 50 miles ( 80 kilometers ) . Seven USAF and NASA pilots qualified for the astronaut badge by flying the sub - orbital X - 15 rocket spaceplane . American test pilots Michael Melvill and Brian Binnie were each awarded a Commercial Astronaut Badge by the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) when they flew sub - orbital missions aboard the Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne rocket spaceplane . All other men and women awarded the astronaut badge earned it travelling to space in non - winged rockets , the X - 15 , or the space shuttle . Military badges . Each of the military services issues its own version of the Astronaut Badge , which consists of a standard Aviation Badge with an Astronaut Device ( shooting star through a halo ) centered on the badge ' s shield , or escutcheon . The United States Army and Air Force Astronaut Badges are issued in three degrees : Basic , Senior , and Master / Command . The Senior Astronaut Badge is denoted by a star centered above the decoration , while the Master / Command level is indicated by a star and wreath . U . S . Army Astronauts . The gold Astronaut Device is issued by the U . S . Army to Army aviators , flight surgeons , and aircrew members that qualify as astronauts . The Astronaut Device is a gold shooting star and elliptical orbit which is affixed over the shield of previously awarded Army aviation badges . Army Astronauts that have yet to fly a mission and have not previously been awarded any aviation badge are awarded the Army Aviation Badge . Once they have flown a mission , they are awarded the Astronaut Device which is affixed to the shield of their Army Aviation Badge . The shooting star and orbit representation is meant to imply the astronaut ' s theater of operations , space . The Army Astronaut Device was approved on May 17 , 1983 . The black version of the device and its sew - on equivalent may be worn on the Army Combat Uniform ( ACU ) ; the silver wings with gold device version is authorized for wear on Army Service Uniform s . It is believed to be the rarest badge issued by the U . S . Army . U . S . Air Force Astronauts . The U . S . Air Force Astronaut Badge consists of a standard USAF aeronautical badge upon which is centered the Astronaut Device . The Air Force does not consider Astronaut to be a separate rating from its six established rating badges , but as a " qualifier " to them , and may only be awarded by the Air Force Chief of Staff after written application upon completion of an operational space mission . The rating of Observer is used for USAF Mission Specialist s who have completed training but not a mission and are not otherwise aeronautically rated as a USAF pilot or USAF navigator . U . S . Naval Astronauts . The Naval Astronaut insignias are issued in a single degree to naval aviators and flight officers from the United States Marine Corps , United States Navy , and United States Coast Guard , with all three branches being trained in the same pipeline . All three branches also wear the same insignia which consists of a Naval Aviator insignia or Naval Flight Officer insignia with a centered gold astronaut device . However , the Coast Guard only issues the Naval Flight Officer version of the astronaut insignia under the name " Coast Guard Astronaut insignia . " Civilian badges . NASA also has an Astronaut Badge , which is issued to civilian personnel who participate in U . S . space missions . The U . S . Federal Aviation Administration has granted commercial astronaut wings to civilian pilots who have performed a successful spaceflight . Currently , only Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie have these wings . < / onlyinclude > NASA Astronaut Pins . In addition to the Astronaut Badge , which is worn on a military uniform , an Astronaut Pin is also issued to all NASA astronauts . It is a lapel pin , worn on civilian clothing . The pin is issued in two grades , silver and gold , with the silver pin awarded to candidates who have successfully completed astronaut training and the gold pin to astronauts who have actually flown in space . Astronaut candidates are given silver pins but are required to purchase the gold pin at a cost of approximately $ 400 . Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean took his silver pin to the Moon in November 1969 and left it on the lunar surface . He said later that since he had worn the silver pin for six years and that he would be wearing a gold pin after the mission , he would not be needing his silver one any more , so " what better place to leave it than on the moon ? " . A unique astronaut pin was made for NASA astronaut Deke Slayton in 1967 . It was gold in color , like the ones given to astronauts who had flown , and it had a small diamond embedded in the star . It was made at the request of the crew of the first manned mission of the Apollo program as a tribute to Slayton ' s work at NASA . The idea was that everyone in the Astronaut Office had thought that Slayton would never get to fly in space ( due to his heart murmur ; he would later fly on board the Apollo - Soyuz Test Project as Docking Module Pilot ) , but as they knew that it was primarily because of him that they managed to do so , he should wear a gold pin rather than a silver one as a token of appreciation . As they knew that Slayton would refuse to wear exactly the same gold pin as veteran astronauts , the diamond was added . The pin was supposed to have been flown on board the Apollo 1 spacecraft , then given to Slayton after the mission was over . However , the Apollo 1 crew died in a fire during a training exercise in January 1967 . The pin was given to Slayton by the widows of the dead crew as a token of condolence . This diamond - studded gold pin was later flown to the moon on Apollo 11 in July 1969 . < / onlyinclude >