Maybe this is just me, but I think we need a new word for people who pay to take a ride on a spacecraft but have nothing to do with the operation or mission of that spacecraft. "Payload" seems rude, perhaps "passengers"?
Whatever they are, they're not astronauts.
Fundamentally, these guys have about as much control over their experience as your 'real' astronauts do.
They will do as much as NASA astronauts do on dragon spacecraft.
I understand the point that the word astronaut is reserved for highly trained individuals working for NASA, but the rants about it I keep seeing online on various forums are just so mean spirited for some reason. Calling them payload, seriously?
Yes, the ISS crew are mere passengers on SpaceX capsules. Just because I buy a ticket on a 737 doesn't make me an "aeronaut".
You can call it mean-spirited if you want, but the point is that some titles should only be earned, not purchased.