Jeff Bezos gets it: he reaches space with his own company

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos today joined a short list of lucky people who can boast of having reached space.

Bezos surprised his own and strangers when he announced that, after , he was going to focus on making his dream of traveling into space come true; even more shocking is that he would do it on a mission as risky as this one.

It marks the first time that Blue Origin, the leading private alternative to SpaceX, has taken people on a mission. In this way, it is a year behind Elon Musk’s project, which in 2020 began sending astronauts to the International Space Station. However, the nature of this release is very different.

Blue Origin’s NS-16 mission has only made it past the Karman Line, considered the “edge of space” about 100 kilometers above sea level, by just a bit; Specifically, the “peak” has been at 107 kilometers, but it will be enough not only to show off, but also to check the systems of the New Shepard capsule, the true objective of the mission for future launches. In addition, this is how Bezos has surpassed Richard Branson, founder of Virgin who beat him to his own trip last weekend.

Bezos also wants to prove that space tourism is safe, claiming just days before launch that he “knows” the vehicle is safe, and if it isn’t safe for him, it isn’t safe for anyone. These are words addressed directly to potential customers who will see the launch and think about buying the right to be in the next ones.

One of the seats in the capsule, in fact, was going to be reserved for one of these space tourists. In a surprising last-minute change, which paid $28 million at auction, it has been given to an 18-year-old Dutchman, Oliver Daemen, due to scheduling problems.

Bezos saved another seat for his brother, Mark, and the last one was reserved for an aviation legend: Wally Funk, an 82-year-old woman who for decades was considered the person best prepared to go to space, passing the same tests as the NASA’s first astronauts. However, she was never given the chance to prove herself, and today, she has finally been able to reach space.

This historic occasion has been seen live, via the Blue Origin YouTube channel. With a window starting at 15:00, the launch occurred about 12 minutes later. More than half a million people watched the launch live.

The first to get into the Blue Sheppard capsule was Jeff Bezos himself, who took his seat inside. To the surprise of many, the occupants did not wear helmets to protect themselves against possible accidents, as is usual in launches with astronauts. The reason is that, in this way, travelers have greater freedom to move and see the space.

That’s the same reason behind one of the most amazing features of the New Shepard capsule: the windows. Normally, capsules and spacecraft have small windows, to reduce the risk in case they break; however, the New Sheppard is designed so that the occupants enjoy the views for which they have paid at all times.

Although Blue Origin did not show video of the interior of the capsule, it did play audio recorded during the mission, in which it is heard “wow, wow, wow, do not forget to look through the windows”.

After the first stage of the rocket landed correctly, it was the turn of the capsule, which descended first with a parachute; at the last moment before landfall, the rockets ignited to achieve a soft landing.

Jeff Bezos emerged triumphant from the capsule, wearing the same cowboy hat he entered with. In this way, a milestone in space exploration and, especially, in space tourism is closed.