CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – The race for commercial space flight continues.
Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin has received federal approval to launch people into space.
The Amazon founder will take off in his New Shepard rocket from West Texas next Tuesday. He’ll be joined by his brother, an 82-year-old aviation pioneer and a $28 million auction winner.
It’s Blue Origin’s first commercial space flight but it comes on the heels of Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson’s first trip into space.
Welcome to the dawn of a new space age #Unity22 @virgingalactic pic.twitter.com/Rlim1UGMkx
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021
The British billionaire successfully completed a trip with five other passengers from New Mexico on Sunday on his Unity 22 craft. Branson’s flight reached 53.3 miles into the atmosphere.
Blue Origin’s flight is expected to surpass that by reaching a maximum of 66 miles into the air.
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