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The richest man on the planet, Jeff Bezos, is all set to “travel to space.” The former Amazon CEO, who also owns the aerospace company Blue Origin, announced this mission on June 7th.
Jeff Bezos would be accompanied by his brother, 82-year-old aviation pioneer Mary Wallace “Wally” Funk, along with 18-year-old Oliver Daemen.
The flight is set to take place on Tuesday, July 20th. The date is the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s iconic moon landing.
The reusable suborbital rocket of Blue Origin, “New Shepard,” will take approximately 11 minutes from launch to touchdown on the first human flight.
All you need to know about Jeff Bezos’ trip to space:
Jeff Bezos, who is currently worth $203 Billion, mentioned on his Instagram page that this mission had been his dream since he was five. The billionaire also dubbed this mission “the greatest adventure.”
When will the “New Shepard” launch:
The launch and landing are at the Blue Origin facilities, “Launch Site One,” in Van Horn, Texas. The launch is slated for 9 A.M. EDT (6 A.M. PT, 6.30 P.M. IST, 11 P.M. AEST, 2 A.M. BST, and 10 P.M. KST).
Where to watch the live-stream from:
The mission will be live-streamed on Blue Origin’s website and YouTube channel.
The stream will begin from 7:30 A.M. EDT (4.30 A.M. PT, 5 P.M. IST, 9.30 P.M. AEST, 12.30 A.M. BST, and 8.30 P.M. KST).
The cost for each person on the space flight:
On June 12, Blue Origin auctioned off a seat on the “suborbital space flight” for $28 Million. The actual cost of sending passengers to space is expected to be a couple of million lower.
The anonymous bidder, who won a seat at the auction, had to cancel his trip due to a scheduling conflict, which allowed the 18-year old student from the Netherlands, Oliver Daemen, to snag it up.
What is a “Suborbital space flight” mission:
New Shepard’s mission to space is termed suborbital space flight, meaning the capsule will not reach into deep orbit. Furthermore, it will not achieve orbital velocity to orbit around the Earth.
This allows the capsule to fall to Earth (at the same launch site) after completing its mission using parachutes.
Facts about the mission:
After completing the mission, Wally Funk (82) will be the oldest person to have gone to space. Meanwhile, Oliver Daemen (18) will be the youngest.
The passengers will experience around three to four minutes of zero-g as they ascend above the Kármán Line (the internationally recognized boundary of space). The capsule will reach 340,000 feet.
Following the announcement of this mission, a petition against Jeff Bezos was launched on Change.org stating:
“Do not allow Jeff Bezos to return to Earth.”
