How To Watch Jeff Bezos' Launch Into Space

Jeff Bezos is set to head into a whole new domain this month, with the Amazon CEO poised to take a [...]

By Jenna Anderson

Jeff Bezos is set to head into a whole new domain this month, with the Amazon CEO poised to take a trip to space. The controversial billionaire's voyage, which will occur on the New Shepard, a vessel owned by Bezos' Blue Origin aerospace company has been a topic of conversation almost from the second it was announced last month — and now, it looks like the occasion is almost here. If you're curious to check out the New Shepard's first manned voyage, there will apparently be an easy way to do so, with a tweet from Blue Origin revealing details about how to livestream the event. According to the group's social media accounts, the launch can be watched live on BlueOrigin.com on Tuesday, July 20th beginning at 6:30 am CDT / 11:30 UTC.

"If you see the earth from space, it changes you," Bezos said on social media when the flight was first announced. "It changes your relationship with this planet, with humanity. It's one earth. I want to go on this flight because it's a thing I've wanted to do all my life, it's an adventure, it's a big deal for me. I invited my brother to come on this first flight because we're the closest friends."

"I wasn't even expecting him to say that he was going to be on the first flight and then when he asked me to go along I was just awe-struck," Bezos' brother, Mark Bezos, added. "What a remarkable opportunity not only to have this adventure but to be able to do it with my best friend."

Bezos' flight, which will see the New Shepard fly over 60 miles above the Earth for eleven minutes, has been talked about quite a lot since it was announced, spawning countless memes, competition from Virgin CEO Richard Branson, and even a petition to keep the billionaire from returning to Earth. Director Doug Liman, who is set to go to space to film a movie with Tom Cruise, also called out Bezos, arguing that the billionaire's voyage isn't really going to space.

"It's good. If we can inspire kids to study science. I grew up dreaming about going into space," Liman said in an interview last month. "I'm a bit snobby about it because Blue Origin is not going very high. Like, it's space, but it's not. I really think the moon or beyond is space."

The Bezos brothers will be joined by 82-year-old aviator Wally Funk, who was among NASA's Project Mercury program in the 1960s, and 18-year-old student Oliver Daemen, who is taking over a seat won anonymously in a $28 million auction, after the original bidder dropped out due to a scheduling conflict. Funk and Daemen are expected to make history as the oldest and youngest people to travel to space, respectively.

Will you be tuning in to Blue Origin's New Shepard space launch? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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