Hyperdrive
Jeff Bezos Celebrates ‘Road to Space,’ Looks Ahead to Orbital Flights
- Billionaire, three others land safely after West Texas launch
- Mission was first crewed flight for Amazon founder’s company
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and three other passengers pulled off Blue Origin’s first crewed flight to space, a key milestone in the company’s push to make space tourism viable.
Blue Origin’s capsule touched down safely in West Texas at about 8:22 a.m. Tuesday after a 10-minute flight in which it reached an altitude of more than 65 miles (105 kilometers) above ground level. Bezos emerged wearing a cowboy hat and accompanied by his fellow passengers: Mark Bezos, his brother; Wally Funk, 82, a former astronaut trainee; and Oliver Daemen, the 18-year-old son of a Dutch financier.