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In the end, there were pickup trucks, cowboy hats, cheers and the spray of victory champagne in the Texas desert.
Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos — the richest human in the world — and his fellow passengers celebrated a picture perfect 11-minute trip aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule on Tuesday morning.
On board today’s sub-orbital flight were Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, pilot Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen.
After landing safely back to Earth, Bezos could be heard saying inside the capsule that it was the “best day ever,†CNN Business reported.
He said to 82-year-old pilot Wally Funk that the trip was “incredible,†and she responded “it was!â€
Jeff’s brother, Mark, said “I’m unbelievably good†after landing.
The crew launched from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One facility in West Texas at 9 a.m. ET and were in flight for 10 minutes and 20 seconds, flying 107 kilometres (351,210 ft) above the Earth’s surface.
Bezos and the passengers unbuckled and floated around the capsule, cheering in the capsule as they experienced about four minutes of free fall.
“You have a very happy crew up here, I want you to know,†Bezos said as the capsule descended.
“There’s actually a light that the astronauts see on their panels,†said capsule designer Gary Lai. “And one second after we separate (from the booster), that fasten seatbelt light basically goes off and they’re free to move about the cabin.â€
The rocket booster landed vertically, similar to the reusable Falcon 9 booster of the rival spaceflight company SpaceX.
The New Shepard spacecraft, which can’t be piloted from the inside, was named after Alan Shepard, the first US citizen to travel in space during a suborbital flight as part of NASA’s Mercury program in 1961.
Bezos’ trip comes nine days after Virgin Galactic’s Sir Richard Branson flew to about 85 km into space aboard a rocket plane he helped fund.
Branson congratulated the Blue Origin founder and the New Shepard crew after the successful spaceflight.
“Well done,†Branson tweeted. “Impressive! Very best to all the crew from me and all the team at @virgingalacticâ€
Before hitting the ground in a puff of dust under a set of parachutes, the capsule uses what’s called a “retrothrust system,†which creates a nitrogen-powered air cushion under the gum-drop-shaped vehicle to further cushion to blow of landing.Â
What’s more, each of the passengers’ seats also sit on top of scissor-like shock absorption mechanisms. Â
Wearing a cowboy hat and blue flight suit, Bezos gave a thumbs-up from inside the capsule after landing in the West Texas desert before stepping out to hug family members and Blue Origin colleagues.
All crew members were greeted by their family members, who were standing next to the capsule, waiting for the hatch to be opened.
Funk, who was barred from NASA’s initially all-male astronaut corps in the 1960s, finally got her chance to prove the naysayers wrong, realizing a lifelong dream.Â
After the historic spaceflight, Blue Origin announced it is open for ticket sales.
Those interested in flying on a future Blue Origin flight were asked to send the company an email — but they did not divulge how much a ticket will cost.
Unlike its chief competitor, Branson’s Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin has not sold tickets to the general public yet, nor has it said how much it will sell seats for.
Tuesday’s launch date also happens to be the 52nd anniversary of NASA’s Apollo 11 moon landing.
The recycled rocket and capsule that carried up Tuesday’s passengers were used on the last two space demos, according to company officials.
Before Tuesday’s flight, Blue Origin had launched New Shepard 15 times — all without anyone onboard — and the capsule landed safely every time. (On the first launch, the booster crashed; on the next 14 launches, the booster landed intact.)
Elon Musk and SpaceX are promising to soar to even greater heights than Bezos and Branson, sending an all-civilian crew for a several-day orbital flight aboard its four-seat Crew Dragon capsule.
Blue Origin is working on a massive rocket, New Glenn, to put payloads and people into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The company also wants to put astronauts back on the moon with its proposed lunar lander Blue Moon; it’s challenging NASA’s sole contract award to SpaceX.
Bezos stepped down as Amazon’s CEO early July, handing over the reins to Andy Jassy, who ran Amazon’s cloud-computing business.
Will be updated …
Source: CNN Business, Space.com, Global News, CTV News, New York Times, CBS News, CNBC
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