Blue Origin Successfully Test Launches Passenger Spaceship

Billionaire Jeff Bezos' space tourism company marks a major milestone.

Blue Origin liftoff (YouTube)
Blue Origin liftoff (YouTube)

Blue Origin, the space company founded and backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its passenger spaceship New Shepard on Sunday, according to Tech Crunch. This is the company’s 8th launch, and the capsule it carried to the edge of space wasn’t empty.

Occupied by an astronaut dummy aptly named “Mannequin Skywalker,” the test flight was intended meant to work out any kinks before opening the trips up to the public. While rival SpaceX’s goals are to launch commercial payloads into orbit, Blue Origin’s focus as of now is strictly space tourism. Passengers onboard Blue Origin flights will reportedly get a quick glimpse of space before experiencing weightlessness on their way back down to Earth.

Take a look at footage of the latest mission below. Liftoff is at the 39 minute mark.

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