"The greatest adventure": Jeff Bezos and his brother take a trip to space
Amazon boss and founder of space company Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos, announced on Monday that he will join the first space tourism trip. At his side, his brother Mark and the winner, unknown for the moment, of an auction of the third and last available ticket.
"Since I was five years old, I have dreamed of traveling in space. On July 20, I will take this trip with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend." It is with these words that the American billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of the space company Blue Origin, announced this Monday, June 7 in a post published on his Instagram account and accompanied by a cleverly staged video that he would join on the first space tourism trip.
"I did not even expect him to say he would be in the first flight," comments his brother, falsely surprised, in this sequence where we can see the two men hugging. A nice setting was needed for such a spectacular project.
On July 20 and for the first time in its history, space tourism company Blue Origin will send humans for a few minutes aboard a rocket.
Over 6,000 applicants from 143 countries
On board, there will therefore be Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark and the third ticket has been auctioned for the general public.
According to a statement from Blue Origin on Monday, stakes for this ticket have reached up to $ 2.8 million. They could go even higher after this announcement from the boss of Amazon.
Nearly 6,000 participants from 143 countries took part, the company also specifies. The auction will close on June 12. The funds raised will be donated to the foundation created by Blue Origin, called Club for the future, intended in particular to encourage younger generations to start careers in the scientific community.
On the day of departure, the rocket will take off vertically and the capsule will separate from it at about 75 km in height, continuing its trajectory until exceeding 100 km in altitude. Passengers on board will then be able to float in zero gravity for a few minutes and observe the curvature of the space.
During this time, the rocket will descend to land gently on a runway, still vertical. Then the capsule will itself begin a free fall to return to Earth, and will be slowed down by three large parachutes and retro rockets before landing in a desert in West Texas.
