Jeff Bezos is about to soar on his space travel company’s first flight with people on board.
The founder of Blue Origin as well as Amazon on Tuesday will become the second billionaire to ride his own rocket. He will launch from West Texas Desert, near the town of Van Horn. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket is set to launch with its eclectic group passengers on the 52nd anniversary of the APOLLO 11 MOON LANDING.
BEZOS is aiming for an altitude of roughly 66 miles (106 kilometers), more than 10 miles, higher than Richard Branson’s rides on July 11.
The Capsule is fully automated, not needing any trained staff on the quick-up and down-flight, expected to last 10 minutes. Branson’s Virgin Galactic rocket plane needs two pilots to operate.
The spacecraft will carry Bezos, his brother Mark, 82-year-old former pilot Wally Funk and 18-year-old teen Oliver Daeman beyond the Karman Line, where they will get to experience the breathtaking view of the blue planet before parachuting back to Earth.
The spacecraft, as it lifts off from the Texas site, will reach a top speed of Mach 3, three times the speed of sound. Three minutes into the flight, New Shepard will separate from the booster and the passengers will experience zero gravity and weightlessness as they unbuckle from their seats. At four minutes, New Shepard will cross the Karman line, entering space, while the boosters will return to Earth.
Six minutes into the flight, Bezos and crew will strap themselves on to their seats as the spacecraft begins descent. The first parachutes will be deployed at nine minutes, slowing the capsule to 26 kilometers per hour. The capsule will land softly in the desert at a speed of 1.6 kilometers per hour, where the rescue and recovering team will be awaiting.
Until now, the four-member crew has reached the launch pad successfully from the training center.
SOURCE:
https://www.space.com/news/live/blue-origin-jeff-bezos-launch-updates
