Following the recent passing of Kiss legend Ace Frehley, a new campaign is urging NASA to honor the guitarist with a posthumous title befitting his iconic persona: honorary astronaut.
The petition, launched by organizer Katherine Sugg, asks that Frehley be granted the rank of “Captain” to honor his lifelong dedication to the “Spaceman” character and fulfill what the petition calls his “one last remaining unfulfilled wish.”
Frehley passed away on October 16, 2025, at the age of 74 from a brain bleed.
The new campaign aims to celebrate his legacy by making his rock and roll persona an official reality.
Organiser Katherine Sugg said:
“On October 16, 2025, the world lost not just a legend, not just a rock icon, but also a good man. Paul Daniel ‘Ace’ Frehley, at the tender age of 21, was brave enough to take one small orange step and one small red step, and make the giant leap into the global phenomenon that we all now know as Kiss. And while most of his dreams ended up coming true, at least one did not.
“When he suddenly passed away from a brain bleed following a head injury at 74, he was still only merely playing the character of a Space Cadet. He never got to be one for real. In honour of his memory, all the lives directly and indirectly impacted by him, and his one last remaining unfulfilled wish, NASA should posthumously make Ace Frehley an honorary astronaut with the rank of “Captain”, because a celestial being of his calibre doesn’t deserve anything less of a send-off than this. His last countdown should be his absolute best!”
The “Spaceman” (or “Space Ace“) persona was Frehley‘s creation when Kiss first formed in 1973. The celestial theme became the defining feature of his entire career, long after his departure from the band.
His post-Kiss group was named Frehley’s Comet, and his solo albums included 2014’s Space Invader and 2018’s Spaceman. His song catalog is filled with cosmic tracks, such as “Mission To Mars,” “Quantum Flux,” “Inside The Vortex,” “Starship,” and “Stratosphere.”
At the time of this report, NASA has not issued a public response to the petition.
