Thank you for checking out HISTORY X. My name is Ken Stano
I wanted to go LIVE today because Jeff Bezos....
Set to fly to the edge of outer space on Blue Origin's maiden crewed voyage.
It's exciting especially since Richard Branson recently made his sub-orbital flight.
Jeff Bezos is doing this on the anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing, so that's very exciting.
Flying with his brother, Mark. Also an auction winner who paid $28 million dollars to be aboard this flight.
Finally 82-year-old Wally Funk. Who's Wally Funk? Well she's a surviving member
of the group known as the 'Mercury 13'; a group of female astronauts who were never given
the opportunity to go into orbit. So she will also be on board.
But if we're just meeting for the first time, my name is Ken Stano.
I am a World War II aviation historian, mechanical engineer and pilot.
Even though I focus on aviation in World War Two,
what kind of aviation enthusiast would I be, what kind of history channel would I be operating,
if I did not focus on what Jeff Bezos is accomplishing with this flight?
It's history in the making. It's the opportunity to make space travel, or prove that space travel,
is a viable option for people that are willing to pay for it.
This is history in the making.
Recently the FAA approved Blue Origin's license to carry humans on the New Shepard launch system into space
They just got that approval in the nick of time.
Blue Origin is now authorized to carry humans while the FAA license is valid,
which goes through August, and they're approved to conduct these missions from the launch site
that they have set up in Texas.
Blue Origin, in order to get this license they were required to verify that the launch vehicle's hardware and software
worked safely during a test flight, and they've been making these test flights over the years,
but like I said...
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos just got the approval
just seven days before the flight is due to take place.
They're going to be aboard the rocket New Shepard,
and like Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos is one of the first billionaires, one of the first people to
fund a program like this, to actually ride onboard the vehicle.
That's also a big deal.
Okay, so we better watch this happen...
As you can see the rocket sitting there on the launch pad
Ready to take off. They're pulling away from the tower.
It's pretty exciting.
Looking at the base of the rocket. They're testing the the control surfaces,
which is very similar to what a pilot would do. Making sure that everything's free and clear.
Approaching t-minus 10 seconds.
"T minus 10...
9...
8...
7...
6...
5...
4...
"Command engine start..."
2...
1...
There we go, we got ignition...
View from on board. That's the thing about this particular capsule...
Plenty of windows. Very similar to what Richard Branson had on his flight.
This is for people to have a just incredible experience, so plenty of views
As the rocket takes off the control surfaces are going to slightly tilt so that it does rotate
and give those aboard a spectacular view of the planet. Just like what you see right there out the window.
They're taking off from Texas, as I mentioned.
Now....
As the rocket approaches around 350,000 feet above the planet....
Here we've got separation, so the capsule has separated from the rocket.
Momentum will continue it forward. Now they're going to be experiencing weightlessness
and they're actually going to be doing this for quite a bit longer than what Richard Branson was able to do
and you're going to see the velocity will eventually approach zero, and that'll mean true weightlessness,
before they start coming back to the planet. Here we go about 100 mph to go...
30... 20... 10... 1... and now the descent begins.
They reached just looks like around 350,000 feet AGL.
And here's the descent.
Doesn't look to be too bad for what they're going to be experiencing.
And coming down.... We're going to focus on the rocket stage
because, like SpaceX, they've been able to bring this back to the planet's surface safely.
There the rocket engages and descent slows.
And here it approaches the launch pad.
That is amazing. I can never... That never gets old for me.
That's a little off center, okay, but the rocket stage booster made it. Successful touchdown.
Now what we need to see is the cap.... And here's the capsule.
Parachutes deployed. Fully inflated
"Fully inflated"
Pretty exciting. Coming in for a landing.
"Beautiful shot. What a day....."
It should be pretty soft; not going to be too violent at all.
Great view out the window.
It kind of looked violent to me. But that's touchdown!
It's a pretty exciting month for space tourism. July, 2021.
Of course Richard Branson recently completing his flight.
Blue Origin going to be doing their flight.
It's a big deal for space tourism because you've got what many consider to be a viable industry.
What makes Blue Origin different from Virgin Galactic and Richard Branson is that
Richard Branson... he went 50 miles above the Earth, which many consider to be worthy of the astronaut pin.
The FAA, NASA, anybody that travels 50 miles above the planet gets an astronaut pin.
But that's not going above the Kármán Line What's the Kármán Line?
Well that's 62 miles, or 100 kilometers, above the Earth.
For most countries that's internationally recognized as the true frontier into space.
Blue Origin, their system, their rocket takes passengers above the Kármán Line.
But regardless, space tourism, it's an up- and-coming sector; has been for years.
Many have been seeking to make sub-orbital space tourism a relatively simple straight-up-and-down flight,
as opposed to a flight where you have to enter Earth's orbit for longer periods.
This is supposedly a "viable" business model with the aim of allowing thousands of people
to experience the adrenaline rush and sweeping views of the planet, as you see here,
that these types of flights can offer.
Branson and Bezos of course are situated to become direct competitors in this industry;
each offering tickets to wealthy customers. I'm sure I won't be able to afford one.
For these brief rides to the upper atmosphere aboard supersonic or rocket-powered spacecraft.
Virgin Galactic: they plan to conduct just one more test flight before it will begin flying paying customers.
As a matter of fact they have more than 600 that have reserved tickets;
priced between $200,000 and $250,000 dollars so far.
They're going to be reopening ticket sales soon; probably at a higher price-point.
Jeff Bezos' company, Blue Origin...
They appeared poised to put him in space before Branson,
but Virgin Galactic made the surprise announcement, and of course Branson recently made his flight,
so that was a departure from the company's earlier plans.
It's a super-exciting time.
I appreciate you taking the time to share this with me. I'm excited.
Jeff Bezos' flight set to occur July 20th, which is the anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.
It's going to be an exciting time. If it occurs just like this earlier test flight conducted by Blue Origin,
it's going to be a huge day in history.
Thanks for watching this with me. My name is Ken Stano. Thank you for watching HISTORY X.