Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has successfully completed its first manned flight in what the Amazon founder described as the "best day ever" as he and three others launched into orbit and back to Earth.
Blue Origin has completed its first manned mission; pictured are Oliver Daemen (left), Wally Funk (middle), Mark Bezos (centre-right), and Jeff Bezos (right, out of frame). Credit: Blue Origin via Twitter.
The crew of the New Shepard soared 66.5 miles (107 km) into orbit above Texas on July 20 accompanied by some of the youngest and oldest astronauts in the world.
This comes a little over a week since Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic completed a similar mission - its first fully-crewed flight to the edge of space.
Read more: Virgin Galactic completes its first fully-manned spaceflight
This forms part of what has been referred to as the "billionaire space race," as the world's richest men look to commercialise early spaceflight.
The race has been met with a mixed response from the public. Some consider it a waste of resources in a time of economic uncertainty and wealth inequality, while others see it as an opportunity to break ground for new technologies and open new markets.
Bezos was joined in space by his brother Mark, 18-year old Oliver Daemen and 82-year-old Wally Funk.
The 10-minute 10-second flight involved the New Shepard touching the Kármen line before parachuting to Earth, reportedly emitting a large cloud of dust upon touching down.
The astronauts experienced roughly four minutes of weightlessness before the descent.
The New Shepard. Credit: Blue Origin via Twitter
The New Shepard clocks in at 60 metres in length, with a light design and is completely reusable.
Read more: How Fujitsu is helping clean up space junk
Bezos has revealed ambitions to fly beyond the Earth's atmosphere. This was the New Shepard's 15th mission with at least two more planned this year with several more in the works for 2022, the company revealed.
Blue Origin's CEO Bob Smith said: “Today was a monumental day for Blue Origin and human spaceflight. I am so incredibly proud of Team Blue, their professionalism, and expertise in executing today’s flight. This was a big step forward for us and is only the beginning.”
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