Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson went into space in his own rocket ship in July, followed by Bezos nine days later on Blue Origin’s first flight with a crew. The flight comes as the space tourism industry finally takes off, with passengers joyriding aboard ships built and operated by some of the richest men in the world. “William Shatner is setting the bar for what a 90-year-old man can do.” Shatner going into space is “the most badass thing I think I’ve ever seen,” said Joseph Barra, a bartender who helped cater the launch week festivities. Blue Origin said Shatner and the rest of the crew met all the medical and physical requirements, including the ability to hustle up and down several flights of steps at the launch tower. Passengers are subjected to nearly 6 G’s, or six times the force of Earth’s gravity, as the capsule descends. Welcome to Earth!” a jubilant Bezos said as he opened the hatch of the New Shepard capsule, named for first American in space, Alan Shepard.
He was there to greet them when the capsule floated back to Earth under its brilliant blue-and-red parachutes. Bezos said his mother had saved them for 48 years.īezos himself drove the four crew members to the launch pad, accompanied them to the platform high above the ground and cranked the hatch shut after they climbed aboard the 60-foot rocket.
Blue origin rocket william finally goes free#
was racing for the moon, and went on to appear in a string of “Star Trek” movies.īezos is a huge “Star Trek” fan - the Amazon founder had a cameo as an alien in one of the later movies - and Shatner rode free as his invited guest.Īs a favor to Bezos, Shatner took up into space some “Star Trek” tricorders and communicators - sort of the iPhones of the future - that Bezos made when he was a 9-year-old Trekkie. Shatner starred in TV’s original “Star Trek” from 1966 to 1969, when the U.S. © 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc.The flight brought priceless star power to Bezos’ space-tourism business, given its built-in appeal to baby boomers, celebrity watchers and space enthusiasts. In response, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith did not admit any wrongdoing or apologize in an email to employees, instead assuring employees that the rocket maker has “no tolerance for discrimination or harassment.” The letter adds that “teams are stretched beyond reasonable limits.” “Blue Origin has been lucky that nothing has happened so far,” one anonymous engineer who signed on to the letter is quoted as saying. The letter alleged a toxic and sexist environment at Blue Origin and said that the majority of signatories would not feel safe riding the company’s rockets to space. The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing safety concerns raised last month by a group of 21 current and former employees in an anonymous essay. The company’s latest launch comes as it faces mounting problems.
The rocket soars just past the Karman Line and gives the crew a couple of minutes in microgravity before returning to Earth, touching down with the help of parachutes. It’s very appreciated.”Ī Blue Origin flight lasts a little over 10 minutes. “So seriously, for every Amazon customer out there, and every Amazon employee, thank you from the bottom of my heart, very much.
“I … want to thank every Amazon employee, and every Amazon customer, because you guys paid for all this,” Bezos told reporters after returning from the trip. 13 “Star Trek” legend William Shatner holds up a message as he gets ready for his 11-minute journey into space on October 13, 2021.
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