Flying Into Space, Jeff Bezos: The Best Day Ever

The process of launching New Shepard which brought Jeff Bezos et al. going to space. (screenshot of Blue Origin)

JAKARTA – The richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos finally launched into space on Tuesday, July 20. The Amazon owner flew in the first crewed flight of his rocket, the New Shepard.

Jeff is accompanied by Mark Bezos, his brother, Wally Funk, an 82-year-old space pioneer of the space race, and Oliver Daemen, a Dutch student, 18.

New Shepard rocket as it glides into space.

They fly in capsules with the largest windows flown in space, which offer stunning views of Earth. The four passengers have now safely landed back on Earth after 11 minutes of their journey.

New Shepard, built by Bezos' company Blue Origin, is designed to serve the growing space tourism market. On this flight was the oldest person to have ever been to space, Funk, and the youngest, student Oliver Daemen.

The spacecraft took off at 9:12 a.m. at around 8:12 p.m. EDT from a private launch site near Van Horn, Texas.

After the capsule landed, Bezos said: "Astronaut Bezos (his call sign): Best day ever!"

Two minutes after the flight, the capsule separated from its rocket and continued upward towards the Karman Line - the most recognized boundary of space, 100 km and above.

The passengers experienced about four minutes of weightless gravity and were able to escape from their seats to soar and enjoy the view of planet Earth far below.

Astronauts can be heard cheering inside the capsule as they pass through the Karman Line. "Oh my, look at the world", said Funk, admiring the view.

Before the flight, Wally Funk said he was looking forward to doing somersaults and falling in microgravity.

In the 1960s, Funk was a member of a female group called Mercury 13. They underwent the same screening tests as male astronauts, but never flew into space.

Bezos said: "Wally could outrun the rest of us. During Mercury 13, he was better than all the men and I can guarantee that's still true today."

Once the capsule reaches a maximum altitude of about 106km (350,000 ft) and begins to descend, parachute into a soft landing in the desert.

After landing, Mark Bezos said: "I'm amazingly good".

The capsule that carried Jeff Bezos on his return to Earth.

Bezos recently stepped down as chief executive of Amazon, the e-commerce giant he co-founded, to concentrate on other ventures, including Blue Origin.

His brother Mark, 53, is a senior vice president at Robin Hood, a New York-based charity.

The fourth passenger was the son of financier Joes Daemen, who founded Dutch private equity firm Somerset Capital Partners. Oliver initially secured a seat on the second flight but was recruited to replace the unnamed winner of the public auction.

Bezos and Richard Branson have previously been criticized on social media, with users arguing that money for space could be put to better use – such as tackling climate change or helping the world recover from a pandemic.

Sir Richard has responded to the criticism, saying: "I can understand that but I think maybe they are not fully educated about what outer space is doing for Earth".

He explains that the satellites are monitoring "rain forest degradation, monitoring food distribution - even things like climate change". "We need more spacecraft flying into space, we don't need less", Branson said.