Blue Origin launches first human spaceflight with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk

Blue Origin launches first human spaceflight with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk

The world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, went into space on Tuesday. It was a brief voyage - 60-miles in the sky above West Texas - aboard Mr. Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin.

Although the plane did not enter orbit, Amazon founder Mr. Bezos was a milestone for the company that started 20 years ago, the first time a Blue Origin vehicle carried people into space.

"Great day," Mr. Bezos yelled as he settled in the dust near the capsule launch site.

Mr. The fact that Bezos himself sat on the capsule reflects the enthusiasm for his endeavor, and his intention to focus on the Blue Origin and to provide creative entrepreneurs, which made the Amazon one of the most powerful economic powers on the planet.

Outside short delays in the countdown, the launch continued steadily.

After 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, the four passengers arrived at a bridge on the launch pad, each hanging for an hour at one end before heading to the capsule. Then at one point they started to climb on the capsule and were tied to their seats.

Named the New Shepherd after Alan Shepherd, the first American in space, the stupid rocket and capsule awoke just before 9:15 a.m. from the company's launch pad in Van Horn, with a thin jet of fire and streaming out of the rocket's engine.

Once the booster used its propulsion, the capsule separated from the rocket at an altitude of about 47 miles. The two pieces continued to make their way to the beach, crossing the 62-mile mark, often considered the beginning of space.

Mr. Bezos and passengers floated around the capsule and cheered as they enjoyed a four-minute free fall.

"You have a very happy team here and I want you to know," Mr. Bezos said as the capsule landed.

The booster landed vertically, similar to the reusable Falcon 9 booster of competing space airline SpaceX. The capsule was slowly lowered until it formed a fine powder.

Ten minutes and ten seconds minutes after launch, it was over.

All four passengers left the capsule after 9:30 a.m. and embraced loved ones, friends and ground staff as they celebrated.