© 2024 WFIT
Public Radio for the Space Coast
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Jeff Bezos Says He's Flying On First Crewed New Shepard Launch And He's Taking His Brother With Him

Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin, inspects New Shepard’s West Texas launch facility before the rocket’s maiden voyage. Photo: Blue Origin
Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin, inspects New Shepard’s West Texas launch facility before the rocket’s maiden voyage. Photo: Blue Origin

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said he’s flying into space on a capsule designed and built by his rocket company, Blue Origin.

Bezos’ New Shephard spacecraft is designed to take tourists to the edge of space and back, giving passengers glimpses of the Earth and moments of weightlessness in the windowed cabin.

The vehicle’s first crewed flight from Texas is scheduled for next month. In an Instagram post, Bezos said he’s also taking his brother Mark on the suborbital flight.

The company is also auctioning off another seat on the first crewed flight, with the bidding currently at $2.8 million. Money from that sale will go to Blue Origin’s charity Club for the Future whose mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and to help invent the future of life in space..

The maiden human flight is scheduled for July 20, just 15 days after Bezos is set to step down as Amazon’s CEO.

Blue Origin is also designing and building an orbital rocket called New Glenn at a facility just south of Kennedy Space Center. The company will launch payloads to space from a launch pad at Cape Canaveral.

Copyright 2021 WMFE. To see more, visit WMFE.

Brendan Byrne