Jeff Bezos travels to space in his own rocket

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The wealthiest man on the planet Jeff Bezos blasted into space on Tuesday on his rocket company’s first flight with people on board. Bezos became the second billionaire in just over a week to ride his own spacecraft. Bezos was accompanied by a hand-picked group: his brother, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands and an 82-year-old aviation pioneer from Texas.

“Best day ever!” Bezos said when the capsule touched down on the desert floor at the end of the 10-minute flight. Named after America’s first astronaut, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket soared from remote West Texas on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, a date chosen by Bezos for its historical significance.

Blue Origin reached an altitude of about 106 kilometers. The 60-foot (18-meter) booster accelerated to Mach 3 or three times the speed of sound to get the capsule high enough, before separating and landing upright.

Scenes from #NSFirstHumanFlight astronaut load. pic.twitter.com/L7u1ZaYn60

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 20, 2021

Blue Origin — founded by Bezos in 2000 in Kent, Washington, near Amazon’s Seattle headquarters — hasn’t revealed its price for a ride to space. Two more passenger flights are planned by year’s end, said Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith.