Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ Rocket Company, Receives Approval To Take Him And 3 People To Space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The government has given Jeff Bezos’ rocket company permission to fly people into space, including himself.

Next Tuesday in West Texas, the Amazon founder will launch his New Shepard rocket, accompanied by his brother, an 82-year-old female aviation pioneer and $28 million auction winner. It will be Blue Origin’s first passenger launch, and the company, like Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, expects to begin flying paying clients in the coming months.

On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration gave its approval. The licence is valid until August.

Richard Branson, the millionaire creator of Virgin Galactic, took his own rocket jet to space on Sunday, accompanied by five business colleagues. The flying ship was transported aloft over New Mexico by a specially constructed aircraft. The spacecraft descended, launched its rocket motor, and flew to a height of 53.5 miles (86 kilometres) before gliding to a runway landing.

Blue Origin’s voyage, which will consist of an autonomous capsule launched atop a reusable rocket, is expected to reach a maximum height of 66 miles (106 kilometres) before parachuting into the desert.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has joined Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic in the race for space passengers. SpaceX, on the other hand, intends to launch its clients into orbit rather than sending them on short up-and-down flights. Musk has yet to publicly commit to a launch.

Bezos, 57, stepped down as Amazon’s CEO last week. In the year 2000, he created Blue Origin.