Blue Origin will launch selling seats on its Fresh Shepard spacecraft subsequent week

Blue Origin is set to launch selling seats on its Fresh Shepard suborbital spacecraft.

“It’s miles time. You would possibly maybe desire the very first seat on #NewShepard. Signal up to search out out how at http://blueorigin.com. Important aspects coming May maybe maybe maybe Fifth. #GradatimFerociter,” the firm, which is bustle by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, stated thru Twitter right this moment time (April 29). (“Gradatim Ferociter” is Blue Origin’s motto. It methodology “grade by grade, ferociously.”)

Blue Origin didn’t upright pluck May maybe maybe maybe 5 out of the air. It’s miles the 60th anniversary of the first crewed American spaceflight, which sent NASA astronaut Alan Shepard — after whom Fresh Shepard is called — on a 15-minute suborbital jaunt. 

Shepard didn’t internet the first-ever human spaceflight, in spite of every little thing. That distinction goes to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who launched on a mission to Earth orbit on April 12, 1961.

Fresh Shepard is a reusable rocket-pill duo that Blue Origin is developing to sigh of us and scientific experiments to suborbital space. The six-passenger pill has flown 15 uncrewed check missions to this level, basically the most recent of which happened on April 14. Blue Origin billed this month’s flight as an “astronaut rehearsal mission,” so right this moment time’s news doesn’t exactly come out of left field.

Blue Origin has no longer stated how great a seat aboard Fresh Shepard will sign; presumably, we will uncover on May maybe maybe maybe 5. But for viewpoint: The latest sign for a seat aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, Fresh Shepard’s predominant competitor in the suborbital space tourism sport, was $250,000.

Mike Wall is the author of “Out There” (Substantial Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a e book about the sign for alien lifestyles. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Fb.