The headlines of Fox Business Flash are here. See what clicks on FoxBusiness.com.
According to one media report, Blue Origin, the co-founder of the space exploration company, CEO Jeff Bezos, is getting ready to embark on passenger flights.
Thursday’s test of the New Shepard rocket was one of the “last remaining steps” before a crew was flown into space. The test flight, the fourteenth of the New Shepard, was the first of two ‘stable configuration’ test flights, with the second – which includes crew for loading and unloading – by the end of February.
In this image from a video made available by Blue Origin, the company’s New Shepard rocket lands after a test flight in West Texas on Thursday, January 14, 2021. (Blue Origin via AP)
If both tests are successful, a flight with crew could take place as early as April, according to CNBC, which first reported the news.
JEFF BEZOS ‘BLUE ORIGIN COUNTRIES NASA LAUNCH SERVICES CONTRACT FOR’ NEW GLENN ‘PROGRAM
A Blue Origin spokesman told FOX Business that the timing was “rumor and speculation”.
In this image from the video made available by Blue Origin, the company’s RSS First Step capsule uses parachutes for landing after a test flight in West Texas on Thursday, January 14, 2021. (Blue Origin via AP)
JEFF BEZOS ‘BLUE ORIGIN FLIGHT WITH AIR FORCE TO CALL IT INV
Regardless of the timing, Blue Origin will eventually launch paying customers for a few minutes at altitudes in excess of 340,000 feet at zero weight before returning them to Earth.
The news comes after Blue Origin tested its New Shepard spacecraft on Thursday.
Thursday’s flight with a dummy named Mannequin Skywalker lasted ten minutes and reached 106 miles above West Texas. Both the New Shepard rocket and the capsule landed successfully.
It was the 14th flight to the edge of space for a New Shepard rocket. The first was in 2015.
The company tweeted an image of the launch, calling it ‘successful’.
“The success of this flight brings us a huge step closer to flying astronauts,” said Ariane Cornell, launch commentator, at the company’s headquarters in Kent, Wash. “There’s a lot of fun ahead in 2021.”
Thursday’s test flight had a number of upgrades, including microphones and push-to-talk buttons for the six seats, as well as wall panels to muffle engine noise, a safety warning system and temperature and humidity control.
In September, Blue Origin undertook its 13th voyage into space, using a reusable New Shepard rocket for the seventh time.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO by clicking here
Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 and partly financed the business by selling its personal Amazon shares over the past few years. The firm is considered a direct competitor of Tesla’s private space initiative, Elon Musk, SpaceX.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE STORIES ABOUT FOX CASES
FOX Business, Thomas Barabbi, Lucas Manfredi and Associated Press contributed to this story.