Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched its third space tourism flight on Saturday morning, just after 10 a.m. ET from Launch Site One, West Texas’ Van Horn.
Six passengers were on board the seven-minute-long flight, including Michael Strahan, Good Morning America host, and Laura Shepard Churchley, the oldest daughter of Alan Shepard who flew to space.
Four other people have had to pay a steep price: Evan Dick (investor), Dylan Taylor (space industry executive) and Lane Bess (founder) of Bess Ventures. Cameron Bess is the father-son duo who flew in space for the first time.
As they entered space on Saturday, the New Shepard passengers were heard shouting “Oh my God” and “This is Amazing”.
After a brief escape from Earth’s atmosphere the crew and the capsule, the rocket made its safe landing.
Bezos was the Amazon founder, and he said “Welcome back” as he opened the landing pad, hugging Shepard Churchley and Strahan.
Strahan, recalling the beautiful sight of the planet against the backdrop of black space, said “It’s incredible.” “I would like to return.”
Bezos laughed, “You have to pay for the next one,”
It’s like a face fall. Strahan described the experience of taking off as a “face drop”. “I already know how I’ll look at 65.
Shepard Churchley stated, “This was absolutely wonderful. I thought of daddy going down. But he wasn’t even able to enjoy the ride. He was at work… I went for the ride. It was more than Disney.
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Bezos and Shepard Churchley were pictured with the crew. Strahan provided a large shadow for them.
Bezos was quick to meet Strahan, the first to embrace the billionaire.
Strahan can be seen mentally prepping for his space journey by closing his eyes.
Blue Origin launched the Blue Origin rocket shortly after 10 AM on Saturday, 12/12/11
Crew members were able to feel weightlessness for just a few seconds while the rocket spent time in space.
Tourists were evacuated on a separate landing pod from the rocket, which made its safe landing.
Strahan can be seen telling the landing crew that everybody on board is safe and ready to leave.
GMA host, John McMahon said that he was eager to travel back. He described the wonder of viewing the Earth through space.
Bezos interviewed Shepard to learn more about her father’s experiences working in space.
Good Morning America host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley were gifted seats on the New Shepard rocket. They will launch on December 11
The flight will carry six people: the top row is Evan Dick and Michael Strahan. Bottom, left to right: Dylan Taylor, Bess Ventures and Cameron Bess
Monday saw the team begin training at West Texas. The crew donned custom blue flight suits and were assigned seats.
Blue Origin’s Crewmember 7 responsible for training told astronauts that Kevin Sproge pointed out to Good Morning America that seat number 1 is directly to your left as you approach the hatch. The seat then turns clockwise and reaches six.
“The capsule will contain their names and patches the first time they enter it for training. That’s how they’ll be able to see their position.
Jeff Bezos (second from the left), was there with the crew just moments before takeoff
Bezos was at the back of the Blue Origin team as they began to board the rocket.
Just after 10 AM EST, the rocket launched and six passengers were brought on board.
Crew members could be heard cheering and admiring the view from outer space.
The rocket flew high above the Earth to complete a safe return
The landing pod separated from the craft and deployed its parachutes.
All passengers were safe and the mission was successful.
Blue Origin crew gathered around the landing platform to welcome space tourists to Earth.
The crew completed a second day of training on Tuesday. They climbed the tower, measuring 80 feet tall, and seven flights of stairs, to reach the capsule.
Strahan stated that the closer you get to the truth, the more things you do at the launch tower, walking over the bridge and ringing the bell — it’s more real.
The capsule allows each passenger to bring up to 3 lbs of luggage.
Saturday’s flight marks New Shepard’s nineteenth flight. It will also be the first time that six passengers can travel in the Blue Origin capsule into space. Previous missions had only four people.
Monday marked the start of the West Texas team’s training. They donned their blue custom-fitted flight suits and wore them for the first time on Monday.
Pictured: Laura Shepard Churchley, crew. They learned their seats and were strapped into the capsule while they are still learning.
A six-person team will take off at least 65 miles over the ocean surface. They’ll spend around 10 minutes in zero-gravity.
Blue Origin asserts that short space trips help to further the company’s vision for millions of people working and living in space.
Strahan was a New York Giants member who won a Super Bowl. He was also inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame 2014
Strahan retired after being a winner of the Emmy Award twice and was awarded a Peabody as a journalist.
In addition to hosting ‘Good Morning America,” he hosts the game program ‘$100,000. Pyramid.
I have to admit, there are many people that look around and say “Yeah, what? According to collectSpace, billionaires pay a lot to get into space. But this is much more than that,” Strahan stated in an interview after Blue Origin’s first man flight.
Dylan Taylor, a space industry executive and Philanthropist (left), and Evan Dick (right).
“This isn’t about going to space. It’s also important for education, and the many other things on our planet.
Blue Origin notes Strahan’s invitation to fly with them and that he will get a stipend.
Shepard Churchley bears the legendary last name of Alan Shepard (pictured), her father. He was the first American in space, and shepard Churchley has the same.
However, he is planning on donating the amount to the Boys & Girls Club.
Shepard Churchley bears the name of her father, the man who sent Americans to Space on May 5, 1961 with a suborbital flight aboard Mercury’s Freedom 7 capsule.
Shepard Churchley, who spoke in an interview with Blue Origin, said that he finds it kind of funny to tell you that the New Shepard will have an original Shepard.
She is currently the Chair of The Astronaut Scholarship Board of Trustees. This foundation raises money for college students, and mentors scholars who are interested in STEM careers.
Churchley will become America’s second and second-generation astronaut to reach space.
Richard Garriott (son of Owen Garriott who was a Skylab and Space Shuttle astronaut) was the first. He funded his 2008 trip to International Space Station.
According to collectSpace: “For our purposes today the thing that’s most interesting about Alan Shepard it that he’s the namesake of this vehicle, New Shepard. That’s because the mission profile which we did today is very close to the one Alan flew when they became the first American to go into space 60-ish years ago,” Bezos told a press conference after his flight.
Taylor, the third member of the flight, is the Chairman & CEO of Voyager Space, a global space exploration firm headquartered in Denver.
Lane Bess Ventures founder Cameron Bess and Cameron Bess will be the first parents-children duo to fly into space.
He was also the founder and CEO of Space for Humanity (a global non-profit organization that organizes the world’s first Sponsored Citizen Astronaut Programme).
Dick is an engineer. He also invests and serves as Managing Member at Dick Holdings.
He’s also an ATP-rated Pilot, meaning he is qualified to fly for any airline.
Cameron Bess and Lane Bess are the father and son who will go down in history as the parent-child couple that ventured into the final frontier.
Six passengers will travel the same route as Bezos (second left) on July 20th, when he and his brother Mark (second right) travelled 66 mile above the surface. The brothers were joined by Oliver Daemen (left) and Wally Funk (right)
Shatner, second from left), is 90 years old and is considered the oldest human to have ever walked into space. He traveled with Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries (right), and Audrey Powers (left), Blue Origin’s vice-president of missions. Powers and Shatner were honored guests
Lane is most well-known for helping to start and grow two cybersecurity businesses, Zscaler Networks and Palo Alto Networks. His son, however, is a content creator.
Blue Origin says that Cameron is a pansexual.
Blue Origin’s July launch of its first space tourist flight included Bezos. On October 13, the second saw William Shatner, an actor who is best-known for portraying Captain Kirk in Star Trek.
Bezos didn’t announce the price of the flight but Tom Hanks (actor) said that he wouldn’t pay 28 million for it in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel.
BILLIONAIRE SPACE RACE: HOW BRANSON MUSK and BEZOS ARE vying for GALACTIC SUPREMACY
Jeff Bezos pictured in front Blue Origin’s space capsule
The ‘NewSpace’ group, Elon Musk, Sir Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson all claim they are inspired by 1969’s first moon landing. It was the moment when the US defeated the Soviet Union in space races.
Amazon founder Bezos looked poised to become the first to go to space. He had announced plans for launch on Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft, July 20. But Branson beat him to it.
Virgin Galactic Astronaut001 was the British billionaire who made space in suborbital flight on September 9, nine days ahead of Bezos. He also flew test flights on July 11.
Bezos travelled to space on July 20 with his younger brother Mark, Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old physics student whose dad purchased his ticket, and pioneering female astronaut Wally Funk, 82.
Musk is the SpaceX founder and Tesla founder. He has said that he hopes to fly into space. But he also purchased tickets with Virgin Galactic, which will allow him to take a suborbital flight.
SpaceX was the first operator of’space tourism to launch a civilian crew into space. The Inspiration4 mission was funded by Jared Isaacman, a billionaire.
Elon Musk was a billionaire who is obsessed with space and built the Dragon capsule as well as the SpaceX rocket. He took off on September 16 for the three-day orbital flight, going higher than that of the International Space Station.
SpaceX is leading in the larger billion-dollar space race, with many launches carrying NASA equipment and partners to take tourists to space.
On February 6 2018, SpaceX sent rocket towards the orbit of Mars, 140 million miles away, with Musk’s own red Tesla roadster attached.
Elon Musk and his Dragon Crew capsule
SpaceX, a Japanese space agency, has taken two astronauts from NASA to the International Space Station.|International Space Station, with crew from NASA, ESA and JAXA, the Japanese space agency.
SpaceX sent 60 satellites in batches into space for Starlink, its beta network that provides fast internet access to rural areas.
Virgin Galactic and Branson are using a completely different strategy to conquer space. It has repeatedly, and successfully, conducted test flights of the Virgin Galactic’s Unity space plane.
The first took place in December 2018 and the latest on May 22, with the flight accelerating to more than 2,000 miles per hour (Mach 2.7).
More than 600 affluent customers to date, including celebrities Brad Pitt and Katy Perry, have reserved a $250,000 (£200,000) seat on one of Virgin’s space trips. Final tickets will cost around $350,000.
Branson previously stated that he expected Elon Musk, his private rocket company SpaceX to win the race for Mars.
Richard Branson in the Virgin Galactic craft
SpaceShipTwo is capable of carrying six passengers, and can also carry two pilots. The same position is available to each passenger with the two large windows, one sideways and one overhead.
It measures 60ft in length and has a cabin measuring 90 inches. This allows astronauts maximum freedom to floate in zero gravity.
Before the engine can ignite, it climbs up to 50.000ft. SpaceShipTwo is separated from White Knight II its carrier craft once it has reached 50 miles.
When they cross the Karman Line, which is the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and the Earth’s atmosphere, passengers become “astronauts”.
With approximately 6 minutes of weightlessness the spaceship will fly suborbitally for approximately 1.5 hours.
Bezos revealed in April 2017 that he finances Blue Origin with around $1 billion (£720 million) of Amazon stock each year.
It consists of an astronaut capsule with pressurized crew attached to a New Shepard booster rocket.
The capsule reached 65 miles (104 kms) at its maximum height, just shy of the official space threshold. It landed vertically after seven minutes.
Blue Origin has begun work on New Glenn, a new generation of heavy-lift rockets that will be in competition with the SpaceX Falcon 9.