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Its other competitor, Virgin Galactic, has achieved crew flights to space using a different technology that reaches lower altitudes than New Shepard. In 2015, Blue Origin was the first reusable rocket to complete a soft ground landing, edging out Elon Musk's SpaceX by weeks. It will also be an opportunity for Bezos to top his rivals in what has been a race for space by private, billionaire-funded rocket companies. The capsule is designed to separate from the rocket at any point and parachute to a safe landing. New Shepard, which does not have pilots on board, has been flight tested 15 times without a crew since 2012, including abort and escape tests. The rocket, meanwhile, lands itself on a pad back in Culberson County, Texas. Minutes after vertical takeoff, the crew capsule separates from the rocket, providing its crew of up to six people a few minutes of weightlessness and a view of the Earth's curvature. A champion of female inclusion on space flight crews, Funk was invited by Bezos to be an honored guest on Tuesday's flight.Įven if aborted, the mission may demonstrate the safety of New Shepard's flight system. Mary Wallace "Wally" Funk, 82, was among the female pilots who trained as astronauts in the 1960's, known as the "Mercury 13," but were not selected for NASA missions. He takes the place of the anonymous winner of a $28 million auction for a seat on the New Shepard, who had a reported scheduling conflict. He will be the youngest person yet to travel to space, and Blue Origin's first paying customer. Oliver Daemen, 18, will soon begin his first year at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, where he plans to study physics and innovation management, according to the release by Blue Origin. According to a Business Insider profile, Mark Bezos cofounded a private equity firm, has been active in nonprofit leadership and is a volunteer firefighter in New York's Westchester County. Mark Bezos, 53, is Jeff Bezos' younger brother, and likely a multimillionaire in his own right.