Jeff Bezos to go into space on the inaugural crewed flight of the New Shepard rocket
Jeff Bezos will finally achieve one of his lifelong ambitions when he blasts off into space aboard his New Shepard rocket.
Many kids dream of becoming astronauts, for the very few that realize the dream the path to becoming an astronaut usually involves years of hard work, dedication, and training. Alternatively, you could found the world’s largest online retailer, rise to become the world’s richest man and build your own rocket.
On the 20th July 2021, Jeff Bezos will fulfill his life’s dream when along with his brother Mark and one other passenger he will soar to an altitude of 100km. This altitude marks the Karman Line, the official beginning of space.
In a video announcing his plan, Mr. Bezos said – “You see the Earth from space, it changes you. It changes your relationship with this planet, with humanity. It’s one Earth. I want to go on this flight because it’s the thing I’ve wanted to do all my life. It’s an adventure. It’s a big deal for me.”
Mark Bezos added – “I wasn’t even expecting him to say that he was going on the first flight. And then when he asked me to go along, I was just awestruck. What a remarkable opportunity, not only to have this adventure but to be able to do it with my best friend.”
The third seat on the trip is being decided by a charity auction, with the bidding currently priced at $2.8 million.
The race for space
Jeff Bezos founded the Blue Origin spaceflight company in 2000, and the company began testing its New Shephard rocket in 2015. The module has been designed specifically for the space tourism market. It incorporates massive windows for unequaled views of the earth and comfortable seating for up to 6 passengers. To date, the system has carried out 15 successful unmanned test flights.
Since its formation, Blue Origin has been involved in fierce competition with SpaceX, Elon Musk’s spaceflight company, despite both companies targeting different sectors.
Blue Origin has focused on serving the space tourism market, whereas SpaceX has focused on the space cargo market, launching satellites and other cargo for NASA and other space agencies. SpaceX also became the first of the two companies to launch humans into space when it sent two astronauts to crew the International Space Station in May 2020. This was the first private flight to take to astronauts to the space station.
SpaceX is also intending to enter the space tourism market. Elon Musk recently announced that SpaceX has partnered with a company called Space Adventures and intends to start taking tourists into space orbit sometime between late 2021 and mid-2022. Seats on these flights are expected to cost around $50 million.
Also in the Space Tourism race is Virgin Galactic. Richard Branson’s company has yet to achieve space flight and had initially hoped to begin carrying paying passengers in 2009. Despite the delays, the company said it is now on track to start commercial flights very soon and recently achieved its third successful test flight, reaching an altitude of 90km, just shy of the official space boundary.