New Shepard Is All Set To Launch From West Texas

Blue Origin's space vehicle also known as New Shepard will launch from 'Launch Site One,' an isolated desert spot in the small town of Van Horn, west Texas, about 120 miles southeast of El Paso.

The launch is all set for July 20, 2021, which will mark the 52nd anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing. It is vertically taking off and landing launch vehicles that are totally reusable. A pressurized crew capsule and a booster rocket are the two major components. There is no need for ground control or a human pilot because the vehicle is totally controlled by onboard computers.

It will reach a height of roughly 62 miles after launch, which is known as the Kármán line. This line is well-known as the point at which space begins. Close to the rocket's highest altitude, the crew module will detach from the rocket and land on Earth using parachutes. Meanwhile, the rocket will drop until igniting its main engines close to the ground, allowing it to land vertically. The operation is planned to last roughly 10 minutes in total.

The Amazon CEO will be joined on the voyage by his brother Mark Bezos, who won an auction for one of the tickets, and Wally Funk, an 82-year-old female aerospace pioneer. In a video shared on his Instagram, Jeff Bezos said that wanted to go on this flight because it's something I've wanted to accomplish his whole life.

His brother claimed in the same video that he didn't anticipate him to say he was going to be on the first flight. What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not just to go on this voyage, but also to go on it with my best buddy.

On Thursday, Blue Origin said that Funk would be one of the passengers on the journey. In the early 1960s, Funk was the youngest graduate of the Woman in Space Program, a privately funded programme that evaluated female pilots for astronaut fitness.

Thirteen female astronauts, including Funk, passed the same physiological and psychological screening examinations as the male astronauts were chosen for NASA's Project Mercury. Although ladies who became known as the Mercury 13 never flew into space.

Funk will be able to fly into space for the first time on the Blue Origin voyage. She will, in fact, become the oldest person to fly into space at the age of 82. Funk's aviator career was significant for the firsts she accomplished. She was also the first female civilian flight instructor at a US Army base in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.