Jeff Bezos Going To Space On Blue Origin Flight: 5 Things To Know

ACROSS AMERICA — July 20 will not only mark another anniversary of the first American moon landing, it could also turn into a key date in the beginning of a new era of space tourism. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos confirmed Monday he will be one of the first six humans to take flight on the New Shepard spacecraft, a project of Bezos’ Blue Origin space company.

Bezos' space trip is set for July 20, 15 days after he is set to leave his role as Amazon CEO.

Bezos said he’s living out a lifelong dream of traveling to space with the trip, which is set to launch from a rural area of west Texas. He’ll be on board the first Blue Origin crewed flight with his brother, Mark Bezos, the winner of a charitable auction and three others who had not been named as of Monday.

“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space,” Bezos wrote on his Instagram page on Monday. “On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend.”

Here are five things to know about Bezos’ upcoming space trip:

How Long Will He Be In Space? About 11 minutes, according to a CNN report. The New Shepard is designed to carry six people to go into suborbital space, about 60 miles above Earth, and experience a few minutes of weightlessness. It will also allow people to see the curvature of the Earth before the capsule returns, Reuters reported.

Who Is Mark Bezos?: Mark Bezos is Jeff Bezos’ younger brother. He’s a volunteer firefighter who runs his own private equity firm, according to a Business Insider report. While having nowhere near his older brother’s worth, the younger Bezos is likely a millionaire himself, the report states, citing a report that he listed his Scarsdale, New York, mansion for $11 million in 2020.

Who Will Join The Bezos Brothers?: The winner of a charitable auction that will conclude, and air live, on Saturday, the Blue Origin website states. Two rounds of the auction have already been held, with the current high bid at around $2.8 million, according to Reuters.

When Can Non-Billionaires Travel Like This, And How Much Will It Cost? The Blue Origin website says its journey is coming to the public “soon,” but it won’t be a cheap ride. Tickets on the New Shepard are expected to go for $200,000, according to Reuters.

Is Elon Musk Next In Space? SpaceX founder Elon Musk, whose rockets are able to enter orbit around Earth, has not announced plans to board one of his company's space capsules, CNN and others have reported. British billionaire Richard Branson could see outer space before Musk, as his Virgin Galactic company is on track to send humans to orbit later in 20201, and Branson has said he will be among the first passengers, according to CNN.

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