US Approves Bezos’ Blue Origin License For Human Space Travel
i9mage credit- CNBC
The company was required to verify the rocket’s hardware and software worked safely during a test flight and the FAA confirmed it met regulatory requirements.
Bezos, his brother Mark, aviation pioneer Mary Wallace ‘Wally’ Funk and three other passengers are now set to lift off from west Texas and travel just beyond the edge of space, the Daily Mail reported.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket is counting down for its first crewed flight on July 20, when it will launch company founder Jeff Bezos and three others into space, and you can watch the whole thing live.
Bezos chose July 20 as the launch date to honour the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Blue Origin’s voyage will take place just seven days after Virgin Galactic undertook a successful manned trip to the edge of space, with Richard Branson, the company’s creator, among the crew members.
The triad of Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and competitor Elon Musk’s SpaceX are striving to unveil a novel period of manned space flights to become as regular as commercial airline travel.
Being able to demonstrate public safety in rocket travel is paramount to the development of a $3 billion yearly space tourism market in the next 10 years.
The launch site for Blue Origin’s first human flight will be in a remote location north of Van Horn, Texas, where the firm has launched New Shepard for previous flights.