Jeff Bezos launches to space aboard New Shepard rocket ship

 

Billionaire Jeff Bezos has made the first crewed voyage of his rocket spacecraft, New Shepard, into space.

Mark Bezos, his brother, Wally Funk, an 82-year-old space pioneer, and an 18-year-old student accompanied him.

They flew in a spacecraft with the largest windows ever flown in orbit, providing breathtaking vistas of the planet.

"Best day ever!" shouted Jeff Bezos as the capsule landed following a 10-minute, 10-second trip.

The New Shepard spacecraft, created by Bezos' company Blue Origin, is aimed at the expanding space tourism business.

The New Shepard spacecraft, created by Bezos' company Blue Origin, is aimed at the expanding space tourism business.

Mr. Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and other "billionaire space race" competitors have been chastised for providing what some regard as "fun rides" for the super-rich. Critics argue that the funds could be used to increase employee salaries or combat climate change.

Mr. Bezos, on the other hand, argues that he has a green vision: "We need to send all heavy industry, all polluting industry into space, and keep Earth as this lovely gem of a planet that it is," he told MSNBC.

"It's going to take decades and decades to achieve, but you have to start, and big things start with small steps... that's what this sub-orbital tourism mission allows us to do, it allows us to practice over and over."

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Ms Funk, the oldest person to travel to space, was on board, as was student Oliver Daemen, the youngest.

The spacecraft took flight from a private launch pad near Van Horn, Texas, at 14:12 BST (09:12 EDT).

"My expectations were high and they were drastically exceeded," Jeff Bezos stated at a post-launch press conference.

The capsule detached from its rocket two minutes into the journey and continued higher towards the Karman Line, the most generally recognised boundary of space, which reaches 100 kilometres aloft. "Wow!" exclaimed the freshly minted astronauts, who cheered.

During the post-flight briefing, video of the passengers doing somersaults and tumbles during their four minutes of weightlessness was aired. Outside, there were breathtaking vistas of the Earth.

The experience of microgravity startled Jeff Bezos: "It seemed so normal," he explained.

"It was wonderful, I loved it," Ms Funk continued, "and I can't wait to go again."

Ms Funk was a member of the Mercury 13, a group of women that formed in the 1960s. They were subjected to the same screening procedures as male astronauts, but they were never selected for the US national space programme.

Mr Bezos told CBS News on Monday: "Wally can outrun all of us. During the Mercury 13, she was better than all the men and I can guarantee that's still true today."

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

Oliver Daemen is the son of a Dutch financier. He had originally secured a seat on the second flight, but was drafted in to replaced the anonymous winner of a public auction who had to pull out from the trip with Bezos.

The capsule reached a maximum altitude of around 107km (351,210ft) before starting its descent, parachuting down to a soft landing in the West Texas desert.

"You have a very happy crew up here," Jeff Bezos informed mission control on the way down.

Mark explained that the flight included notable things from aviation history. A piece of canvas from the Wright Brothers' first plane, a medallion from the vehicle that conducted the first hot air balloon journey in 1783, and a pair of goggles worn by pilot Amelia Earhart were among the items on display.

Jeff Bezos just stepped down as CEO of Amazon, the e-commerce behemoth he established, to focus on his other businesses, including Blue Origin.