Blue Origin, the private aerospace manufacturer founded by billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its New Shepard spacecraft into suborbital space yesterday. The historic flight marked the fourth time the vehicle has reached the edge of space.
Bezos himself rode on the capsule as it soared to an altitude of 106 kilometers, or about 350,000 feet, before descending back to Earth. This was not Bezos's first time at the controls; he had previously tested the craft in July and September last year.
The launch took place from West Texas's Van Horn Air Force Range, where Blue Origin has been conducting its test flights since April. The company aims to develop a reusable suborbital launch system capable of carrying people and payloads into space.
During the flight, Bezos reportedly experienced a few seconds of weightlessness as the capsule pierced the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. Upon landing safely back on Earth, the billionaire entrepreneur tweeted that he had "felt weightless" during the experience.
The New Shepard spacecraft is designed to be reusable, with the aim of reducing costs associated with access to suborbital space. Blue Origin hopes its technology will eventually be used for human spaceflight and satellite launches, marking a significant step towards establishing the company as a major player in the global space industry.
Yesterday's successful launch marks another milestone in Blue Origin's ambitious plans, solidifying Bezos's position as one of the pioneers driving innovation in private space exploration.
Bezos himself rode on the capsule as it soared to an altitude of 106 kilometers, or about 350,000 feet, before descending back to Earth. This was not Bezos's first time at the controls; he had previously tested the craft in July and September last year.
The launch took place from West Texas's Van Horn Air Force Range, where Blue Origin has been conducting its test flights since April. The company aims to develop a reusable suborbital launch system capable of carrying people and payloads into space.
During the flight, Bezos reportedly experienced a few seconds of weightlessness as the capsule pierced the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. Upon landing safely back on Earth, the billionaire entrepreneur tweeted that he had "felt weightless" during the experience.
The New Shepard spacecraft is designed to be reusable, with the aim of reducing costs associated with access to suborbital space. Blue Origin hopes its technology will eventually be used for human spaceflight and satellite launches, marking a significant step towards establishing the company as a major player in the global space industry.
Yesterday's successful launch marks another milestone in Blue Origin's ambitious plans, solidifying Bezos's position as one of the pioneers driving innovation in private space exploration.
so its pretty cool that blue origin was able to make this historic flight happen 
i mean jeff bezos is basically a space pioneer now lol. he's already been on this thing like twice before, which says a lot about how reliable it is. and its awesome that the capsule can reach 350k feet without any problems - thats crazy! i'm curious to see what other tech blue origin has up their sleeve for reusable suborbital launches... maybe they'll even get to send some paying customers into space soon? 
btw did you know that 106 km is like, super close to orbit but not quite there? it's still a major achievement tho! 
also fun fact: blue origin aims to make its tech reusable which means they'll save a ton of cash in the long run 
according to their stats, the cost of launching into space right now is around $2.7 billion for just one launch... that's crazy! 
. And can you imagine having to wear a spacesuit just to go on a Sunday joyride? Bezos seems like a glutton for punishment, but hey at least he's getting paid for it 
. Reusability is the key here, if they can pull that off, it could change everything 
that weightless feeling must've been soooo surreal tho...i'd freak out if i got to experience that 
. anyway, this is some major progress for blue origin - reusable launch systems are the future 
! and can't wait to see what they have in store for human spaceflight 
and it's crazy to think about how far we've come from like 10 yrs ago when SpaceX was still trying to get off the ground 
. The fact that he rode on the capsule himself must've been insane 
So they just launched this thing into space and the billionaire dude felt weightless for a few seconds... how reliable is that experience? I mean, we're talking about suborbital space here, not a fancy rollercoaster ride. And what's with the 'weightless' claim? Did he actually feel zero gravity or was it just some fancy math to make him sound cooler? 
Also, how much did this whole thing cost? I need to see some receipts before I start believing in all this space magic