Whoever flies SpaceShipOne will be considered an Astronaut. Whether or not they're the first *private* astronaut is a matter of definitions, however. The first astronaut not funded by any government was Tohiro Akiyama, the Japanese Journalist who flew to Mir in 1990. However he was part of a governmental mission, even if as a paying passenger. The first non-govenrnmental mission was Soyuz TM30, in 2000. This flight to Mir was entirely privately funded by Mircorp, although it used a governmental vehicle, and governmental cosmonauts. SpaceShipOne's flight will be the first "all-private" spaceflight, in that both the pilot *and* the spacecraft are private.

Cheers,

Nathan