Space / 20 July 2021
Countdown to Bezos blast off
Amazon founder/billionaire Jeff Bezos is preparing for his minutes-long journey to space just days after some other rich bloke beat him to the punch. Bezos’ Blue Origin is one of the new space players that plan on taking paying customers on space rides. To test it out, Bezos, his brother Mark, a recent high school grad, and the gloriously named Wally Funk (an 82yo former pilot) will fly to the edge of space on the New Shepard rocket tonight. Compared to Virgin Galactic’s recent flight, the New Shepard’s journey will be shorter on time but faster on speed. And Bezos is taking a bit of a risk – Blue Origin has made automated flights before, but this will be its first with people on board. Liftoff is at 11pm tonight, and you can watch it on Blue Origin’s livestream.
Image source: Getty
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