Bezos’ Blue Origin completes third crewed space flight

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin company blasted its third private crew into space on Dec. 11 and brought it back safely, this time including the daughter of the first American astronaut.

The stubby white spacecraft with a round tip blasted off into clear blue skies over West Texas for a roughly 11-minute trip to just beyond the internationally recognized boundary of space, 62 miles (100 kilometers) high.

The six-member crew hooted with glee as they unbuckled to enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness, looking out at space through tall windows in the capsule.

"I've never seen anything like that," one unidentified crew member said as Blue Origin livestreamed the flight.
The capsule quickly returned to Earth for a gentle parachute landing in the desert, kicking up a cloud of dust as it touched down.

Bezos and other company officials rushed to greet the crew members as they emerged smiling from the capsule. The booster rocket touched down separately and also safely.

"We had a great flight today," Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said in a statement.

Laura Shepard-Churchley, whose father Alan Shepard became the first American to travel to space in 1961, flew as a guest of Blue Origin.

The company's suborbital rocket is in fact named "New Shepard" in honor of the pioneering astronaut.

Michael Strahan, an American football Hall of Famer turned TV personality, was also a guest, while there were four paying customers: space industry executive and philanthropist Dylan Taylor, investor Evan Dick, Bess Ventures founder Lane Bess, and Cameron Bess.

Lane and Cameron Bess became the first parent-child pair to fly in space. Ticket prices have not been disclosed.
Alan Shepard made U.S. history with a 15-minute suborbital...