-
VAN HORN, TEXAS A Blue Origin New Shepard rocket entrusted with the company’s first-ever crewed mission soared into clear skies above Texas early Tuesday, fulfilling lifelong dreams held by the world’s richest person and three others.
Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen, and Wally Funk were strapped into New Shepard’s capsule when its single BE-3 engine
roared to life at 8:12 a.m. Central time, boosting the 60-foot rocket from Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site near Van Horn. The company was founded by Bezos in 2000 with aims to popularize space tourism and, someday, help people live and work there.
By Kitty O Neal, News 93.1 KFBK
Jul 21, 2021
Listen: ABC s Alex Stone: You instantly become an astronaut, what do you do? Well, toss Skittles into your fellow astronauts’ mouths of course. At least that’s what went on in the Blue Origin New Shepard space capsule today as the crew of 4 civilians went to the edge of space very briefly before descending and once again living within the limits of gravity. Jeff Bezos and crew successfully rocketed 66 miles above Earth in the new era of making space flight possible for non-trained citizens. Bezos says it was the greatest day of his life and thanked every Amazon employee saying they paid to make it possible. But while Bezos’ capsule went 10 miles higher than Richard Branson’s space plane did last week, neither went into actual orbit. As such there was no re-entry, leading some astronauts to say that this these billionaire trips aren t truly space flights.
July 20, 2021
Today saw the first flight by Blue Origin New Shepard rocket fulfill its promise by finally launching with passengers onboard.
The booster rocket and capsule brought Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, 82-year-old US aviator Wally Funk, and Dutch high schooler Oliver Daemen to the edge of space, putting a personal stamp of approval on the safety and reliability of the 60-meter booster rocket and capsule combo. The experience lasted just 10 minutes and 22 seconds, with the capsule reaching a peak altitude of 66 miles (107 km).
Now that Bezos has gone up, when will you be able to log on to Blue Origin’s website and buy your ticket at a set price? Not anytime soon, according to company executives at the launch. Thanks to a month-long auction that attracted 7,500 participants volunteering their own bids to fly, Blue isn’t feeling any pressure to start selling regular tickets. But you can email them, and if you’re serious, they’ll add you to the list.
Aboard Blue Origin s New Shepard rocket will be Bezos, his brother Mark, and two other occupants – longtime women-in-space advocate Wally Funk, and Oliver Daemen, the winner of a $28 million charity auction for the capsule’s fourth seat. The 11-minute flight cost more than $2.5 million per minute.
The four will travel past the Kármán line, the 62-mile-high boundary between Earth s atmosphere and outer space in a flight that will last about 11 minutes. The July 20 launch date was chosen in honor of the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.
Follow along for live updates from the flight.
Blue Origin crew share excitement from space launch
Jeff Bezos Returns from Space and Donates $100 Million to José Andrés Charity
The Spanish chef and humanitarian says he will use the money to expand World Central Kitchen s mission to fight systemic hunger After safely landing in Texas in his Blue Origin spacecraft, Jeff Bezos, right, announced a $100 million award to José Andrés to help his humanitarian efforts. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) By Jul 20, 2021
After an 11-minute space flight that took him 66.5 miles above the earth, Jeff Bezos tried to improve life on the planet below. At the end of a press conference following his flight on the Blue Origin