Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin will go to space next month on Blue Origin’s first human space flight.
This will set him apart from any other space exploration companies’ CEO or founder being the first to actually go to space on his companies vehicle.
Bezos announced on Monday through Instagram that he will be one of the first passengers aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship, which will launch from West Texas on July 20. Mr. Bezos also stated that his brother, Mark Bezos, will be a part of the team.
Bezos, who is stepping down as Amazon’s CEO on July 5 after finding it and holding the position more than two decades, has made significant investments in Blue Origin, giving as much as $1 billion in certain years.
After his lieutenant Andy Jassy takes over as CEO, Bezos will serve as Amazon’s chairman and executive chairman.
Blue Origin has stated that it intends to facilitate extensive commercial space activities in the future.
The winner of a charity auction that ends this month will also be on the passenger list for Blue Origin’s July journey. According to Blue Origin, the auction has roughly 6,000 participants and the top price is $2.8 million.
The New Shepard capsule, in which Bezos will ride, seats six passengers and is totally autonomous.
Blue Origin’s commercialization ambitions are similar to those of SpaceX, the spaceflight business run by Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk. Last year, SpaceX became the first private corporation to carry NASA people into space.
Before NASA awarded the contract to SpaceX in April, both companies competed to create a new capsule capable of landing people on the moon. Blue Origin has filed a petition to rescind the contract.
