Amazon Billionaire Jeff Bezos Will Join Blue Origin’s First Crewed Trip to Space
Space Tourism: Bidding for Blue Origin seat to space as already hit $3.5 million.
The last time we checked on Big Tech Billionaire Jeff Bezos his Blue Origin space firm filed protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over a contract awarded to Elon Musk’s prodigiously busy SpaceX.
It appears that the Bezos firm had a backup plan if the protest didn’t resolve the issue in their favor: Congressional intervention.
Almost as if Blue Origin itself is aware of just how frivolous its protest really is, the company – seemingly backed by partners Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Leidos – wasted no time lobbying Senator Maria Cantwell for an alternate avenue to get what it wants and the government money founder Jeff Bezos feels entitled to.
Cantwell represents Washington State, where both Amazon and Blue Origin are headquartered, and has frequently spoken out in support of – or personally introduced – legislation that would specifically favor Bezos’ space company. On May 12th, Cantwell introduced an amendment that would purportedly “maintain competitiveness” by forcing NASA to select a second HLS winner in addition to SpaceX. Without irony, the authorization bill also demanded that NASA make that decision within a mere 30 days.
Meanwhile, Bezos appears to be consoling himself with a unique getaway….to space.
Mr. Bezos, the founder of Amazon, said on Monday that he would take a trip to space next month when Blue Origin, the rocket company he founded more than two decades ago, conducts its first human spaceflight.
“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space,” Mr. Bezos, 57, said on Instagram. He said his brother Mark would join him on the flight, allowing him to embark on “the greatest adventure, with my best friend.”
Mr. Bezos made the announcement in the middle of a busy year for human spaceflight. Blue Origin’s biggest competitors in private rocketry, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, have both announced a number of trips to carry a variety of individuals on launches or flights high above the planet, but neither as yet plans a passenger of such a high profile.
Mr. Bezos predicted that he would be a new man after his journey to space: “It changes your relationship with this planet, with humanity,” he said. “It’s one earth. I want to go on this flight because it’s the thing I’ve wanted to do all my life.”
If you have some vacation funds collecting interest during the Pandemic Year, now might be the time to bid on another seat on this historic flight.
Bidding for a seat on Blue Origin’s first passenger flight to space next month hit $3.5 million on Tuesday — one day after billionaire founder Jeff Bezos announced he and his brother will join the auction winner on the journey.
The flight to the edge of space, set for July 20, has lured about 6,000 bids from more than 140 countries, according to Blue Origin.
The space tourism company kicked off the auction last month. Bidding will end with a live auction on Saturday.
The highest bid stood at $2.8 million before Bezos, the richest man in the world with a net worth of about $187 billion, announced he, too, will be a passenger.
Bezos will step down as Amazon CEO on July 5. Andy Jassy, the head of Amazon Web Services, will take over.
Let the era of space tourism begin!
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Comments
Mr Bezos, I served with Delos D. Harriman, I knew Delos D. Harriman, Delos D. Harriman was a friend of mine. Mr Bezos, you are no Delos D. Harriman.
If I win, do I have to wear a mask?
He kinda looks like Verne Troyer brother. Any chance? (hint: Mini-Me)
I am not going to say what I am thinking because I recognize how mean it is.
But I am sure everyone will know what it is.
Perhaps they will make a movie about it called “Lost in Space.”
You took the words right out of my mouth, but first he has to pay the taxes he hasn’t paid in umpteen years!
Or, perhaps the wining #2 passenger will have plans to take one for the team.
It’s the first thing I thought of when I heard the news!
Boom?
Uhh, no… Why not just say what you mean? I’m not being obtuse; I really don’t have a clue.
Thank you.
I’m guessing he means that he hopes that rocket blows up with that elitist, progressive prick on board.
NASA calls that an “Unscheduled Rapid Disassembly” (URD)
Can he go ahead and leave now?
I very much support space development, but would not be terribly upset if Bezos had an accident. The last thing space needs is someone like him calling the shots.
please please please please please o-rings please please please
Buried lede: Andy Jassy, the head of Amazon Web Services, will take over
Although “AWS” is no longer quite synonymous with “cloud” – Microsoft’s Azure is a respectable second place – the money involved makes it clear that increasingly all Internet hosting is being concentrated in a small number of vendors, and those corporate divisions are larger than everything else their parent company does.
….and Google Cloud is technically superior to both of them, but struggles to gain ground.
The cloud platforms are a boon for small developers, but we put ourselves at the mercy of being cancelled for wrong-think.
If we ever wanted a spaceship to crash…
So he’s gonna put his own a$$ and his brother’s in an unproven spacecraft on its maiden manned suborbital flight? Kinda like Alan Shepard did almost 60 years ago? Say what you want, but it takes big brass ones to do something like that, even if it is his own dime. I may not like the guy, but I’ll wish him luck on this trip.
Personally I like Elon Musk better but this shows Bezos is 100% confident in his venture.
That sounds very risky. Good!