Founder of Amazon.com Inc., Jeff Bezos and three others landed safely in Blue Origin’s first flight to space with passengers aboard, an important milestone in the company’s effort to make space tourism viable.
The company’s capsule touched down in West Texas at about 8:22 a.m. local time Tuesday, July 20th, almost 10 minutes after it launched on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. The crew experienced a few moments of weightlessness as the spaceship soared past the Karman line at an altitude of about 62 miles (100 km) above the Earth. The capsule then parachuted back.
The mission caps a landmark month for space-tourism ventures, followed by U.K. billionaire Richard Branson who plans to make a trip to space on a particular plane made by Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc., a rival to Blue Origin. Both companies are set to expand operations to entice super-wealthy customers to pay big money for a unique travel experience.
