First Blue Origin astronaut launch: 10 moments that got Bezos here

Space race Ready for liftoff. by Robin Bea July 19, 2021

Mark Wilson/Getty Images News/Getty Images Blue Origin’s first crewed rocket flight is set for July 20, 2021 — and founder Jeff Bezos will be among the first people the New Shepard suborbital rocket carries to space .

Blue Origin Here are 10 moments that made the milestone for commercial space flight possible.

10. Mercury 13 training — 1961

Don Cravens/The Chronicle Collection/Getty Images After completing astronaut training, aviator Wally Funk was denied the chance to go to space when the Women in Space program was shut down. At age 82, she’s flying aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard.

9. Apollo 11 Moon landing — July 20, 1969 Bezos says the Apollo 11 moon landing inspired a lifelong fascination with space. His trip aboard New Shepard is set for the 52nd anniversary of the landing. ullstein bild Dtl./ullstein bild/Getty Images

8. Blue Origin founded — September 8, 2000 Founded in 2000, Blue Origin kept details of its work quiet for many years. The Washington Post/The Washington Post/Getty Images

7. NASA Space Act Agreement funding — 2011

BILL INGALLS/AFP/Getty Images Blue Origin received $22 million from NASA to develop a system to carry astronauts to the International Space Station.

6. First developmental test flight — April 29, 2015 Blue Origin launched its first rocket in a Texas test facility. The crew capsule was recovered afterward, but the rocket was lost. Blue Origin

5. First ground landing of a reusable rocket — November 24, 2015

Blue Origin Blue Origin was the first company to successfully vertically land a reusable rocket on the ground after a flight to space.

4. First reuse of a Blue Origin rocket — January 23, 2016 Blue Origin reused a rocket that had made the trip to space for a second successful launch . Blue Origin

3. Blue Origin unveils New Glenn — September 12, 2016 Blue Origin revealed its New Glenn orbital rocket , showing that it has ambitions for more than suborbital space tourism. Blue Origin

2. Crew Capsule 2.0 test flight — December 12, 2017

Jeff Bezos The first test flight of Blue Origin’s Crew Capsule 2.0 carried 12 experiments to space, along with its first human-ish passenger — a test dummy dubbed Mannequin Skywalker .

1. Bezos joins the New Shepard crew — June 7, 2021

Bezos announced that he would be aboard the first crewed Blue Origin flight, along with his brother Mark. Blue Origin

Blue Origin Liftoff for the first crewed New Shepard flight is set for 9 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, July 20.

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