Jeff Bezos — Amazon founder and the world’s richest man — will soon head to space.
- Bezos will follow in the footsteps of Richard Branson, the billionaire who flew to space earlier in July. Branson’s craft launched into the edge of space before coming back down to planet Earth, as I wrote about for the Deseret News.
Bezos announced back in June that he would be traveling to space in July. He said in a video on Instagram that traveling to space is a big deal for him.
- “To see the Earth from space, it changes you, changes your relationship with this planet. It’s one Earth,” Bezos said on Instagram. “I want to go on this flight because it’s a thing I’ve wanted to do all my life. It’s an adventure. It’s a big deal for me.”
What to know about Jeff Bezos’ space flight
Bezos will fly aboard the New Shepard ship, which is a capsule and rocket system from his company Blue Origin, CNN reports.
- Bezos will travel with a few guests, including his brother Mark Bezos, pilot Wally Funk and a high school graduate Oliver Daemen.
How long will the flight last?
Per CNN, Bezos’ flight will last 11 minutes from its takeoff to landing.
Where will the flight launch from?
Bezos’ flight will launch from outside of Van Horn, Texas, which is about two hours away from El Paso, according to NPR.
When does Bezos fly to space?
Bezos will fly to space on Tuesday, July 20 at 7 a.m. MT.
- Of course, Bezos’ flight time could change based on the weather.
How to watch Bezos’ space flight
You can watch the launch on BlueOrigin.com, the website of the actual space capsule. You can also watch it on Live Science, the Wall Street Journal and CNN, which will stream the Bezos launch beginning about 90 minutes before takeoff.