Highest altitude achieved by a commercial astronaut

On 4 October 2004 Brian Binnie (USA) piloted SpaceShipOne to an altitude of 112.01 km above the Mojave Desert, California, USA. This was the third and last space flight of SpaceShipOne and it fulfilled the criteria to win the Ansari X Prize by demonstrating reusability of a non-government manned spacecraft. Binnie’s flight made him the second commercial astronaut recognized by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

For the purposes of this record, we're using the United States Federal Aviation Administration definition of a "commercial astronaut". As of the revisions introduced in July 2021, applicants for commercial astronaut wings have to meet three key criteria.

The first is that they have completed the level of training specified in title 14 of the US Code of Federal Regulations (part 460). This requires the crew to have trained for nominal and off-nominal conditions, abort scenarios and all other training (including pilot training) required to ensure that the vehicle does not pose a risk to the public.

The second is that they have flown in a spacecraft not operated by a government agency to an altitude greater than 50 miles (80.4 km).

The third is that the individual must have "Demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety". This definition was added in July 2021, shortly before Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin This means that those who flew purely as passengers, with no ability to control the craft, and who did not undertake any research activity, are ineligible for astronaut wings.

The last of these criteria (and perhaps the first) exclude the four private citizens who flew on the Inspiration4 mission, which achieved an altitude of 580 km in September 2021. They were classified as "spaceflight participants" rather than crew, meaning that they had no significant active role to play in the operation of their Crew Dragon spacecraft.