Space company Blue Origin plans to launch its first manned space flight on a New Shepard rocket and capsule next Tuesday and send billionaire founder Jeff Jeff Bezos into space.

This is the first manned flight of Blue Origin and the 16th launch of the New Shepard rocket. Bezos and three other civilian astronauts will lift off from launch site 1, which originated in Blue, near the town of Van Horne, Texas, at 9 a. M. et, a milestone for the company.

When will the rocket be launched?

If all goes according to plan, the launch will be broadcast live on the Blue Origin website at 7:30 EDT on July 20. The new Shepard rocket is expected to launch at 9 a. M. eastern time, but may be adjusted according to weather conditions or technical problems.

The whole process of the new Shepard rocket from launch to landing will last 11 minutes. The official website of Blue Origin will also broadcast the astronauts out of the capsule after landing.

Blue Origin has not announced whether it will hire a well-known host like rival Virgin Galaxy. When Virgin Galactic launched founder Richard Branson (Richard Branson) into space on July 11, it invited comedian and late-night show host Stephen Colbert to host the live event.

Normally, the new Shepard rocket flies much higher than the Carmen line, which is 100 kilometers above the ground, which is the internationally recognized boundary of space. After being separated from the capsule, the rocket will automatically return to the launch site and land, while the capsule will land using three parachutes.

Who are the passengers participating in this manned space flight?

The first manned flight of the new Shepard rocket will carry four passengers. Because the capsule is equipped with an automated system, there is no need for professional pilots. The four passengers include:

57-year-old Jeff Bezos (Jeff Bezos). Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 and made a fortune through his e-commerce business, Amazon.Com Inc.

Mark Mark Bezos, 53 years old. Mark, the younger brother of Bezos, became a millionaire by virtue of his personal ability. Mark is reported to be a former advertising executive and a member of the management committee of Robin Hood, an anti-poverty non-profit organization.

Wally Fink (Wally Funk), 82 years old. As a legendary female pilot, Fink is a member of the famous Mercury 13 program. In the early stages of the US space program, NASA conducted rigorous astronaut tests on these women. After the manned space flight, Fink will defeat the late Mercury mission astronaut John Glenn (John Glenn) to become the oldest person to complete the space flight. Glenn went into space for the second time aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998 at the age of 77.

18-year-old Oliver Damon (Oliver Daemon). Dimon is a physics major and plans to study at the University of Utrecht (University of Utrecht) in the Netherlands. Dimon will beat 25-year-old cosmonaut Gherman Gherman Titov, who took part in the Soviet mission Dongfang II in 1962, to become the youngest astronaut in the space mission. Damon is a passenger on the Blue Origin follow-up flight. An anonymous passenger paid $28 million for a seat on Blue Origin's first space flight, but was replaced by Dimon because of a change in itinerary.

On July 15, just five days before the launch, Blue Origin announced that Dimon would join the space flight. Blue Origin said at the time that the winner of the auction "had chosen to take part in the follow-up mission of the New Shepard rocket because of the schedule conflict."

Dimon's father, Joes Daemon, was reportedly the second highest bidder for all seats auctioned at Blue Origin, so he was chosen to take the flight. As chief executive of a private equity firm, Dimon reportedly handed over the right to his son Oliver.

Blue Origin what is the mission of this space flight?

The New Shepard rocket launch system is named after Mercury mission astronaut Alan Shepard (Alan Shepard). The latter was the first American to go into space in 1962.

Before its launch on July 20, the new Shepard rocket had conducted 15 unmanned tests, most recently on April 14, when it conducted an astronaut boarding exercise before launch. The new Shepard rocket, about 18 meters high, is designed to send passengers into suborbital space and experience weightlessness for about three minutes.

The entire flight usually lasts 11 minutes, and the New Shepard rocket automatically returns to the launch pad using circular and wedge-shaped flaps. The space capsule carried by the astronauts will return to the ground with the help of parachutes.

The capsule carried by the new Shepard rocket can hold up to six people and is equipped with large portholes for astronauts to enjoy the earth and space scenery. The capsule can not only carry passengers, but also carry out scientific experiments. Blue Origin hopes to eventually allow paying companies to use the microgravity environment to carry out research in manufacturing, physics or biology.

What will astronauts of blue origin experience?

Like all space flights, the crew will be at high risk. An 11-minute space flight can make astronauts overweight, especially during launch and landing. The capsule will also remain weightless for a few minutes at the top of the flight path.

Other information about the space flight experience is also available from the terms of the Blue Origin capsule seat auction document released earlier this year. The crew must be able to "put on an one-piece zipper suit" and climb the seven-story tower within 90 seconds, the document said.

Crew members are required to climb into the capsule at the top of the launch tower before launch and then sit in reclining seats 40 to 90 minutes before launch. In case of emergency, crew members are required to unfasten their seat belts within 15 seconds.

Blue Origin also specially advertises the huge portholes of the capsule, saying that passengers can see through the portholes at any time. "these portholes account for 1/3 of the outer area of the capsule and allow you to immerse yourself in the vast expanse of space and earth," the company said in 2018. "

Can this flight really reach space?

Absolutely.

Recently, the two companies have been vying for customers before and after rival Virgin Galactic sent billionaire founder Branson to the edge of space on July 11. Branson denied that there was competition between the two companies, but Bezos did not respond. Just a few days before Branson's launch, Blue Origin released an infographic emphasizing that flying in the Blue Origin capsule has an advantage over buying seats on the Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

The biggest debate between the two companies is whether Virgin Galactic astronauts actually arrive in space. The VSS Unity spacecraft is designed to rise to an altitude of 80 kilometers, a space boundary approved by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). By contrast, the New Shepard rocket capsule flies at an altitude of more than 100 kilometers, higher than the internationally recognized Carmen line.

Over the years, Blue Origin has repeatedly emphasized the Carmen line. "our mission has always been to fly over the Carmen line, because we don't want an asterisk next to your name to question whether you are a real astronaut," Bezos said in 2019. "in my opinion, this is a problem that they (Virgin Galaxy) must solve. "

Where will the rocket be launched from?

Blue Origin will launch the New Shepard rocket from launch site one. The launch site is located in a remote area of the desert in western Texas, about 40 kilometers from the town of Van Horne. Most of the area is covered with desert shrubs. A few hours before the launch, the crew had a spectacular view of the desert at the top of the tower.

This area is usually closed to tourists. According to Blue Origin, the nearby Interstate 54 will also be closed during the launch.

According to previously released videos, the launch site was decorated with feathers of blue origin. All paying passengers will have the opportunity to visit the capsule they will take at nearby facilities. The crew will receive some training in the facility before the flight.

When can ordinary people take the Blue Origin capsule?

Blue Origin has not announced any follow-up launch plans or when it will start sending passengers into space on a regular basis. It was not until Dimon advanced his ranking on the space trip that Blue Origin publicly disclosed that the New Shepard rocket had a second flight plan. As a result, other participants bidding for seats may have a place on future flights for some time to come.

Users can register on the Blue Origin website that they are interested in participating in space flight. The company promises: "when we start booking seats, you will get the price and other relevant information in advance." "

So far, Blue Origin has not released the ticket price for ordinary paying users. By comparison, the Virgin Galactic spacecraft costs $250000 per seat.