Blue Origin launch recap: Jeff Bezos soars to the edge of space

Jeff Bezos and three others are launched to the edge of space on Tuesday.

ByCatherine Thorbecke
Last Updated: July 21, 2021, 4:57 AM EDT

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos blasted to the edge of space and spent a few minutes outside Earth's atmosphere Tuesday on the first crewed flight from his firm Blue Origin.

An elated Bezos could be heard calling it "the best day ever" after landing back on Earth.

The milestone launch in the modern commercial space race comes on the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's moon landing in 1969, though the space-faring landscape has evolved by giant leaps since then as billionaires emerge as key players driving the new race to the cosmos.

Bezos, who holds the title of the richest man in the world per Bloomberg data, has said the spaceflight will fulfill a lifelong dream and he is also curious how it will "change" him.

The crew members of Blue Origin's first crewed flight speak out in an interview with "Good Morning America," July 19, 2021.
ABC News

Here is how the launch unfolded.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Jul 20, 2021, 5:36 AM EDT

What is happening and how to watch

Liftoff of the inaugural Blue Origin flight is scheduled for 9 a.m. ET from a rural complex just north of Van Horn, Texas.

In total, the flight will be 11 minutes, with approximately three minutes spent above the so-called Karman line that is defined by some as the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. After re-entry, the astronauts are set to descend back to Earth in their capsule with a parachute-landing in the west Texas desert.

A mural displaying Jeff Bezo and his brother Mark Bezo, is seen in Van Horn, Texas, July 18, 2021.
Thom Baur/Reuters

ABC News will carry live coverage of the event, which will also be streamed on Blue Origin's website. The live broadcast will begin at 7:30 a.m. ET. Unlike most spaceflights, there are no on-site public viewing areas in the vicinity of the launch site. The newly-minted astronauts are set to have a press conference shortly after landing back on earth.

Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital rocket is pictured here on July 19, 2021.
Blue Origin/UPI/Shutterstock

There is no pilot aboard the fully-autonomous capsule. While Blue Origin's New Shepard has flown 15 test flights, Tuesday's will be the first with humans on board.

The definition of "space" has emerged as a heated debate point in the new space race, as Sir Richard Branson took heat for not passing the Karman line (roughly 62 miles above earth) during his Virgin Galactic spaceflight earlier this month. Neither Blue Origin nor Virgin Galactic's flights will reach Earth's orbit, however, the way Elon Musk's SpaceX missions have. Musk, also a billionaire player in the new space race, on Twitter has called out this "big difference."

While the modern space race has become the arena of the ultra-wealthy at a time when a global pandemic on earth has exacerbated inequities, some argue the rise of private sector involvement has saved NASA money and accelerated technological advances -- which in the long-term has the potential to open up space tourism to all who have been curious about the cosmos.

Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital rocket is pictured here on July 19, 2021.
Blue Origin/UPI/Shutterstock

In an interview with ABC News' "Good Morning America" just one day ahead of the spaceflight, Bezos said he is curious how briefly leaving Earth will "change" him.

"I don't know what it's going to mean for me," Bezos said. "I don't know, I'm very curious about what tomorrow is actually going to bring. Everybody who's been to space says it changes them in some way. And I'm just really excited to figure out how it's going to change me."

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