The term "astronaut" is given to anyone who has flown to 100 km, or the height at which something can be put into orbit, even if only for a short time because of what you called atmospheric drag...that's why the pilot of SpaceShipOne is the first civilian "astronaut"...plus SpaceShipOne DID have a heat shield...more commonly called a Thermal Protection System (or TPS). Look it up at scaled.com. Any and all vehicles traveling to those heights need a TPS of some sort so that they do not overheat the structure, systems, or pilots/passengers upon there return to earth...it's been fun...i gotta get back to work
The term "astronaut" is given to anyone who has flown to 100 km, or the height at which something can be put into orbit, even if only for a short time because of what you called atmospheric drag...that's why the pilot of SpaceShipOne is the first civilian "astronaut"...plus SpaceShipOne DID have a heat shield...more commonly called a Thermal Protection System (or TPS). Look it up at scaled.com. Any and all vehicles traveling to those heights need a TPS of some sort so that they do not overheat the structure, systems, or pilots/passengers upon there return to earth...it's been fun...i gotta get back to work