Amazon's Jeff Bezos Flies Into Space; 'Well Done,' Says Richard Branson

Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight comes days after billionaire Richard Branson successfully ventured into space.

Amazon founder and executive chairperson Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the world, flew into space on Tuesday, 20 July, on board the New Shepard spacecraft, made by Blue Origin, of which he is also the founder.

Three others accompanied Bezos in the spacecraft. The flight went past what is accepted as the boundary between Earth and space, at an altitude of 100 kilometres, before landing back safely.

Our astronauts have completed training and are a go for launch. #NSFirstHumanFlight pic.twitter.com/rzkQgqVaB6

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 19, 2021

The lift-off took place at Van Horn in Texas, US, around 8:12 am local time.

Richard Branson Reacts

This comes days after billionaire Richard Branson returned to Spaceport America in New Mexico after successfully venturing into space on his Virgin Galactic vessel.

The galactic vessel, which had reached a height of 86 km over the New Mexico desert, enabled the passengers to view the curvature of the Earth and experience a few minutes of weightlessness.

Branson took to Twitter to congratulate Bezos following the latter's venture on Tuesday.

“Well done @blueorigin, @jeffbezos, Mark, Wally and Oliver. Impressive! Very best to all the crew from me and all the team at @virgingalactic,”