Jeff Bezos Space Flight: US Approves Blue Origin Licence for Human Space Travel Aboard New Shepard

Former Amazon CEO Bezos is set to fly to the edge of space on Blue Origin's maiden crewed voyage on July 20.

By Reuters | Updated: 13 July 2021 09:48 IST

Jeff Bezos Space Flight: US Approves Blue Origin Licence for Human Space Travel Aboard New Shepard

Blue Origin is authorised to carry humans while its FAA license is valid through August

Highlights

Blue Origin was required to verify its launch vehicle worked safely
Blue Origin is approved to conduct these missions from Launch Site One
Blue Origin's flight will come over a week after Virgin Galactic's

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Monday it approved a Blue Origin license to carry humans on the New Shepard launch system into space.

Former Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos is set to fly to the edge of space on Blue Origin's maiden crewed voyage on July 20.

Blue Origin is authorised to carry humans while its FAA license is valid through August and is approved to conduct these missions from its Launch Site One facility in Texas, the agency confirmed.

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#NewShepard is go for launch on July 20 for #NSFirstHumanFlight. This is the 16th flight and first with astronauts on board. Watch live at https://t.co/7Y4TherpLr. Coverage starts at 6:30 am CDT / 11:30 UTC. pic.twitter.com/hYv68UlCqm
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 12, 2021

Blue Origin was required to verify its launch vehicle's hardware and software worked safely during a test flight and the FAA confirmed it met regulatory requirements.

Blue Origin's flight will come a little over a week after space-tourism rival Virgin Galactic successfully sent a crew including its founder, British billionaire Richard Branson, to the edge of space.

Elon Musk Prefers Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Over Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin

Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, as well as the space firm founded by rival billionaire Elon Musk, are working to usher in a new era of routine commercial civilian space travel in what has been popularised as the "billionaire space race."

Proving rocket travel is safe for the public is key to developing what the Swiss-based investment bank UBS estimates will be a $3 billion (roughly Rs. 22,340 crores) annual space tourism market in a decade.

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