New Shepard launches astronauts into space
Jeff Bezos declared today ‘the best ever’ after he and three others became the first to launch and return to Earth in New Shepard, a vehicle designed for the nascent space tourism market.
As well as Bezos, 18-year-old Oliver Daemen was among the astronauts, becoming the first paying customer to fly on board New Shepard. He was accompanied by Jeff’s brother Mark Bezos and 82-year-old flight pioneer Wally Funk on the 10 minute 10 second flight that took off from a launch site in Texas at 1412 BST.
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After separating from the rocket at around 250,000', the astronaut’s capsule continued toward the Kármán Line, reaching an apogee of 105km AGL/107 km MSL. The astronauts had a four-minute window in which they could experience weightlessness before returning to Earth. On its descent, three drogue parachutes deployed on Blue Origin before the main parachutes were activated for a smooth landing.
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