Geekery: Blue Origin – Space Travel for Everyone
Move over, Elon Musk, it’s Jeff Bezos‘ turn to play with rockets…
Blue Origin – owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – wants to make space travel possible for private citizens. The company’s aim is to have a unit ready that will take folks into space in the next two years – to have a rocket deliver the capsule just above the Kármán Line, land back on earth, and have the capsule parachute back to earth once its trip is over. They accomplished the first unmanned capsule return last year. Last month they made it closer to that goal with the third successful flight and return of the New Shepherd – which they got some awesome on board video of.
The New Shepherd’s name sake is Alan Shepard – one of the Mercury Seven astronauts. It’s a reusable vertical take off/landing, suborbital rocket. The current payload is a capsule that can carry 6, and allows those lucky folks within to experience zero-g without feeling like they’re in a can of sardines. It also has HUGE windows for a better view of Earth, the Moon, and the endless vacuum of space…
For more on Blue Origin’s systems and tech check out the run down here. Along with their civilian astronaut program they’re building rockets help to end the US’s dependency on Russia for all sorts of space travel.
Sound like a once in a life time adventure you want to have? They’re already taking seat reservations.
Are you ready to become Major Tom?
“Here… am I floating by my tin can, far above the moon. Planet Earth is blue…”
