Tag: space tourism
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William Shatner’s space trek is turning up a spotlight on Blue Origin’s highs and lows
Future suborbital spacefliers Audrey Powers, William Shatner, Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries pose in front of Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship. (Blue Origin Photo via Instagram) Star Trek captain William Shatner’s scheduled suborbital space trip is bringing a renewed flood of attention to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture — but like a movie…
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Weather forces a day’s delay in William Shatner’s Blue Origin suborbital space trip
William Shatner stands with crewmates Chris Boshuizen (left), Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries, all clad in their flight suits for a Blue Origin suborbital space trip. (Blue Origin Photo) The Starship Enterprise never had to delay its mission to seek out new life and new civilizations due to bad weather, but that’s precisely what…
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Blue Origin confirms it’ll give Star Trek captain William Shatner a suborbital ride
Blue Origin’s Sarah Knights gives William Shatner a tour of the West Texas launch tower. (Blue Origin Photo) It’s official: Star Trek actor William Shatner is due to fly on Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital spaceship next week, becoming the oldest person to go into space at the age of 90. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’…
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Blue Origin sets next space trip for Oct. 12; two fliers named, but not William Shatner
Blue Origin’s first suborbital space crew does a photo op in front of the New Shepard rocket booster that lifted them skyward in July. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture says two successful tech entrepreneurs will be part of the lineup for its next suborbital trip on Oct. 12 —…
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Beam me up? TMZ says William Shatner will take Blue Origin suborbital space trip
The TMZ celebrity website says Star Trek captain William Shatner is due to fly on Blue Origin’s next crewed suborbital space trip. (Left Photo: Paramount; Right Photo: Blue Origin) The next crewed suborbital spaceflight planned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture — which could launch as early as next month — is…
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Citizen spacefliers splash down, finishing up Inspiration4’s charity mission in orbit
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule descends to a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. (Inspiration4 Photo) The first non-governmental flight to orbit ended with a splash — and with the safe return of the Inspiration4 mission’s billionaire commander and his three crewmates. Shift4 Payment’s 38-year-old founder and CEO, Jared Isaacman, paid what’s thought to be a price…
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Why Inspiration4’s ‘all-civilian’ trip to orbit represents the dawn of a second space age
Inspiration4 mission directors Scott Poteet (far left) and Todd Ericson (far right) flank the crew: Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor, commander Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arceneaux. (Inspiration4 Photo / John Kraus) Are they space tourists? Citizen spacefliers? All-civilian astronauts? Whatever you call them, the four teammates who are due to go into orbit today in a…
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With a billionaire’s backing, SpaceX sends citizen spacefliers into orbit for a mission like no other
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Florida, sending four citizen spacefliers into orbit. (SpaceX via YouTube) A tech billionaire and three other non-professional spacefliers blasted off today to begin the first non-governmental, philanthropic mission carrying a crew to orbit. The founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, Jared Isaacman, is paying what’s thought to be…
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Bezos vs. Branson vs. Musk: A reality check on the billionaire space race — and space station sci-fi
Blue Origin suborbital spaceflier Mark Bezos throws a ball to Oliver Daemen in zero-G while Wally Funk floats above in the New Shepard capsule. (Blue Origin Photo) The state of commercial space travel is changing so quickly that even science-fiction authors are struggling to keep up. That’s what Time magazine’s editor at large, Jeffrey Kluger, found…
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Who’s an astronaut? FAA weighs in on a murky issue for suborbital space travelers
Jeff Bezos gets a custom-designed Blue Origin astronaut pin from former NASA astronaut Jeff Ashby, who now serves as Blue Origin’s chief of mission assurance. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) Hundreds of deep-pocketed tourists are likely to take suborbital space trips as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, as well as the Virgin Galactic venture…