By Sharon Challenger.
(July 21, 2021) On July 20, 1969, the world witnessed the American astronauts on Apollo 11 land on the moon. When Neil Armstrong stepped off the spacecraft and walked upon the moon’s surface, it was “one giant leap for mankind.”
On that historic day, many dreamed of a day when space travel would be available to anyone who would like to “boldly go where no man has gone before.”
Fast forward to, July 20, 2021, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, an investor and volunteer firefighter, Wally Funk, a Mercury 13 aviator (age 82) and physics student, Oliver Daemen (age 18) participated in the first crewed flight on Blue Origin’s space rocket New Shepard. The spacecraft is named after Alan Shepard, who became the first American into space 1961.
Wally Funk was the youngest graduate of the Woman in Space Program, a privately-funded project which tested female pilots for astronaut fitness in the 1960’s. The First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLAT) were a group of women pilots qualified to fly in space but excluded because of their gender.
During the early days of the space age women were never considered as astronaut candidates. Prior to 1983, American human spaceflight was a male-only affair. That changed however on June 18, 1983, when Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space on the space shuttle Challenger.
Prior to July 20, 2021, New Shepard performed 15 tests without a crew on board. New Shepard is about sixty feet in height and is completely automated. It is launched like a conventional rocket, but the booster returns to the launchpad making it reusable. The crew capsule returns to Earth with the help of 3 parachutes which slow its decent to less than 20 mph before it lands. Unlike NASA rockets, the crew capsule returns to land rather than the sea. The flights last approximately eleven minutes, three of which, allow passengers to experience weightlessness.
Along with the crew, several pieces of aviation history were on board the space flight: a medallion from the first hot air balloon, a piece of canvas from the Wright Flyer, and a pair of Amelia Earhart’s aviator goggles. “I like to think that if Amelia were here, she would be very proud of Wally,” Bezos said, referring to his fellow astronaut Wally Funk.
During their minutes of weightlessness, a video showed the four floating inside the capsule. Some did somersaults, cheered, and threw ping pong balls and shared Skittles candies.
Bezos declared it as being the “Best day ever!” when the capsule touched down in a remote area the west Texas desert. They were met by friends and family and were eager to share their adventure.
Upon landing the ground crew rapidly drove to the landing site and prepared for the astronauts to exit. The vessel has to be grounded before the hatch can be opened because a significant electric charge builds up and can be quite strong after space travel.
At the press conference later, the astronauts spoke about their experience. “I’ve been waiting a long time to finally get up there,” Funk said after the flight.
“It was incredibly exhilarating,” Mark Bezos said.
When Jeff Bezos was asked if his future plans include more spaceflights, he replied, “Hell yes, how fast can you refuel that thing? Let’s go!”
For those interested, Blue Origin has a spot on its website where you can reserve your interest for future flights. 
“You’ll receive early access to pricing information and tickets when we open reservations,” the company has promised.
It seems that Neil Armstrong’s prediction 52 years ago has come true, it was indeed, “one giant leap for mankind.” Today, it seems the “giant leap” is available to anyone who aspires to dream big!
Photos by Blue Origin.
