Bezos, crew return safely from space after historic, 11-minute journey

Bezos became the second billionaire to ride his own rocket into space, following Richard Branson's ride earlier this month

By Sophie Mann

Published: July 20, 2021 7:13am

Updated: July 20, 2021 10:26am

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, on Wednesday completed the first manned commercial space flight for his Blue Origin company.

"Best day ever," Bezos said upon returning safely to earth following his and the crew's 11-minute flight to the edge of space.

The rocket – New Shepard – departed from west Texas. The crew was Bezos' 53-year-old brother Mark, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands, and an 82-year-old female aviation pioneer from Texas.

The journey was made on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

The rocket reached an altitude of 66 miles, which is 10 more than rocket of fellow billionaire Richard Branson reached July 11.

Bezos' flight requires no trained staff due to the capsule's complete automation.

The New Shepard has successfully visited space 15 times on unmanned test flights. The company now plans to have two more passenger flights before January.