Photo: Brent Lewis (The Denver Post via Getty)
It’s been nearly 24 years since Jeff Bezos decided to start a small website which sold both new and used books. Little did he or anybody else at the time realize, that online bookstore would eventually morph into one the world’s largest e-commerce sites.
From food to razors to baby diapers, you can buy anything you want from the online retailer. That might even include trips to space.
Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Bezos, plans to begin selling tickets for suborbital travel within the next year.
Rob Meyerson, a senior vice-president at Blue Origin spoke at the Amazon Web Services Public Sector Summit in Washington, DC last week where he revealed the company’s new plans, which include consumer space travel.
“We expect to start selling tickets in 2019,” he stated.
Blue Origin’s most recent rocket test, entitled ‘New Shepard’ was deemed a success in April after the spacecraft carrying a dummy reached an altitude of 66 miles, which was reportedly the desired test height.
Mannequin Skywalker is ready for his 2nd mission on board New Shepard. He’s a little sensitive about being called a “dummy”, as he will be conducting astronaut telemetry and science studies – a very important job! pic.twitter.com/h2ncpGWaTi
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 28, 2018
Bezos and Blue Origin aren’t the only company planning on sending guests on an intergalactic trip as Elon Musk’s SpaceX will reportedly offer transport to the moon around 2022, though it’s believed that Bezos’ flights with Blue Origin will be far cheaper between the two. Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Galactic, has also taken over $250,000 in reservations for his space-travel company, though multiple setbacks and hurdles have many wondering if they’ll ever get off the ground despite Branson’s suggesting they plan to “start flying soon.”
