Bezos
VAN HORN, Texas (AP) — Billionaire Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame is about to soar on his space travel company’s first flight with people on board.
The founder of Blue Origin will become the second billionaire to ride his own rocket. He’ll blast off this morning at 9 am from West Texas with his brother, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands and an 82-year-old female aviation pioneer from Texas. They’ll become the youngest and oldest ever to fly in space.
Our astronauts have completed training and are a go for launch. #NSFirstHumanFlight pic.twitter.com/rzkQgqVaB6
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 19, 2021
Blue Origin’s capsule is fully automated, so there’s no need for trained staff on the brief space hop. Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson rocket plane needs two pilots to operate. Branson beat Bezos to space on July 11.
The moment we saw Earth from space…@virgingalactic #Unity22 pic.twitter.com/LTHSKqABAj
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 19, 2021