Jeff Bezos launched into space on a New Shepard rocket back in July. That was a record-breaking flight in multiple regards, but now Guinness World Records made it official.
There are four records that Blue Origin’s flight broke. The first (and perhaps most widely reported) was the oldest person to fly in space.
Oldest person in space
Wally Funk, at 82, is the oldest person to ever fly in space. Wally Funk worked hard to become an Astronaut in the 1960s but society held her and others back.
In the 1960s, women were not able to become Astronauts, but the Women in Space program was created, without Government sponsorship, for women to undergo the same rigorous physical and mental testing as the Male Astronaut candidates. There were 13 women who graduated through the program and were dubbed the “Mercury 13” in reference to the Mercury 7.
Wally is one of the Mercury 13 who fought for many years to become a NASA astronaut. She is the only member of the Mercury 13 to have flown to space.
Youngest person in space
Oliver Daemon, 18, is the youngest person to go to space. He participated in the auction to win a seat, but was not the $28 million winner. That mysterious winner had to back out of the flight due to ‘scheduling conflicts.’ That worked out for Oliver! Blue Origin reached back out to him and offered the ability to purchase that seat (for well below the $28 million cost of the auction ticket). In purchasing the seat, he became to youngest person to fly to space.
First siblings in space at the same time
The first person Jeff Bezos invited to fly to space with him was his brother, Mark Bezos. In doing so, they became the first siblings to be in space at the same time. They aren’t the only siblings to have been to space (NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Mark Kelly are twins) but they are the first siblings to be in space at the same time.
First suborbital spacecraft to carry paying customers
While Richard Branson may have beaten Jeff Bezos to space with his own flight on Virgin Galactic’s Space Ship Two, he did not carry paying customers. His crew was made up of Virgin Galactic employees; not paying customers.
That “suborbital” bit is very important. Tourists, as early as 2001, have paid to fly to the International Space Station on a Soyuz capsule.
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