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  [Discuss] Blue Origin New Shepard first crew (Page 1)

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Author Topic:   [Discuss] Blue Origin New Shepard first crew
Robert Pearlman
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posted 04-29-2021 12:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
From Blue Origin (via Twitter):
It's time. You can buy the very first seat on New Shepard. Sign up to learn how. Details coming May 5th.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 05-05-2021 11:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Blue Origin video
On July 20, 2021, New Shepard​ will fly its first astronaut crew to space. We are offering one seat on this first flight to the winning bidder of our online auction.

Starting today (May 5), anyone can place an opening bid by going to BlueOrigin.com. The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin's foundation, Club for the Future, to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and help invent the future of life in space. This seat will change how you see the world.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 05-05-2021 11:04 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Blue Origin release
Bid for the very first seat on New Shepard

On July 20th, New Shepard will fly its first astronaut crew to space. We are offering one seat on this first flight to the winning bidder of an online auction.

There are three phases of the auction:

  • May 5-19: Sealed online bidding - you can bid any amount you want on the auction website (no bids are visible)

  • May 19: Unsealed online bidding - the bids become visible and participants must exceed the highest bid to continue in the auction

  • June 12: Live auction - the bidding concludes with a live online auction
The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and help invent the future of life in space.

SkyMan1958
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posted 05-05-2021 04:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SkyMan1958   Click Here to Email SkyMan1958     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I'm glad that Blue Origin will finally be launching humans on New Shepard. I wish them every success in their endeavor.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 05-19-2021 08:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
As scheduled, the silent auction for the first seat on New Shepard ended on Tuesday (May 18) and the high bid went public today: $1.4 million.

The open bidding continues — the total is already up to $2 million — until June 12, when RR Auction will host a live auction to complete the site.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-07-2021 06:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Jeff Bezos and his brother Mark will join the auction winner on New Shepard.
Ever since I was five years old, I've dreamed of traveling to space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-07-2021 01:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
After the news of Bezos flying broke, the bid jumped from $2.8 million to $3.2 million.

Headshot
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posted 06-07-2021 06:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It would be interesting if the winning bid came from Elon.

Gordon Eliot Reade
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posted 06-10-2021 06:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gordon Eliot Reade   Click Here to Email Gordon Eliot Reade     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If I had an extra 4 million dollars I'd make a bid. Just think of it, your name would be in the history books. Not only that, it looks like a huge amount of fun.

p51
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posted 06-10-2021 11:18 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just curious, would the passengers on such a flight be awarded FAA astronaut wings?

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-10-2021 01:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Only flight crew are eligible for FAA civilian astronaut wings and New Shepard does not have a flight crew. So no wings will be awarded.

The passengers will be eligible to wear the Association of Space Explorers' Universal Astronaut Insignia.

thisismills
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posted 06-10-2021 02:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for thisismills   Click Here to Email thisismills     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
What is the definition of "flight crew" for the purposes of civilian astronaut wings?

Does it have anything to do with automation of the flight or ability for occupants to take manual control?

It makes me also wonder if being a FAA certified pilot checks the box or if that doesn't necessarily make a difference if it is up to the discretion of the FAA. Is it standard for the company performing the flight or the governing body to have the final say about the designation of the travelers?

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-10-2021 03:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Per the FAA, to be eligible for Astronaut Wings, nominees have to meet the following criteria and submit an application to the FAA:
  • Must be an FAA licensed launch;

  • Must meet the requirements for flight crew qualifications and training under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 460; and

  • Must demonstrate flight beyond 50 statute miles above the surface of the Earth as flight crew on an FAA licensed or permitted launch reentry vehicle.
Per Title 14, there is a distinction between crew and spaceflight participants. The earlier must have a role aboard the spacecraft for which they undergo training (and in the case of a pilot, be licensed by the FAA).

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-10-2021 06:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The online bidding portion of the New Shepard seat auction is now closed. The high bid going into Saturday's live auction is $4.8 million.
Blue Origin will broadcast the live auction for the very first seat on New Shepard on Saturday, June 12th. The webcast will begin at 12:45 p.m. EDT / 16:45 UTC.

The winning bidder will fly to space on New Shepard's first human flight on July 20th and will join Blue Origin founder, Jeff Bezos, and his brother Mark. The name of the auction winner will be released in the weeks following the auction's conclusion.

The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin's foundation, Club for the Future, whose mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and to help invent the future of life in space.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-12-2021 12:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
With the buyer's premium, the total cost for the seat is $29,680,000.

The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin's non-profit, Club for the Future, which has the goal of inspiring future generations to pursue careers in STEM and "help invent the future of life in space."

To put this into some perspective, taking into account inflation, the price paid today by the still-to-be-named winning bidder for a 12-minute suborbital flight with Jeff Bezos is roughly the same that Dennis Tito was reported to have spent in 2001 to launch to the International Space Station and log 7 days, 22 hours and 4 minutes in space.

Larry McGlynn
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posted 06-12-2021 01:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Larry McGlynn   Click Here to Email Larry McGlynn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A little bit of awesomeness today at RR Auction and Blue Origin's auction for the first seat on the New Shepard flight in July.

I was invited to work with a phone bidder at the auction today. It was amazing to participate in and meet members of both the Blue Origin and RR Auction team as well as watch the bidding sky rocket to $28M!

lspooz
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posted 06-12-2021 02:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for lspooz   Click Here to Email lspooz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wait, Larry, it's not your seat?!?

What an amazing opportunity (love the giant windows, too). Mind-boggling that it's even possible to buy a seat on a private rocket ship. Love the donation to the non-profit STEM program too.

Larry McGlynn
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posted 06-12-2021 03:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Larry McGlynn   Click Here to Email Larry McGlynn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I got blown out in the first 15 minutes of online bidding back in May. No ride for me for now.

Gordon Eliot Reade
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posted 06-12-2021 06:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gordon Eliot Reade   Click Here to Email Gordon Eliot Reade     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The winning bid was 28 million dollars! As our British friends would say, I'm gobsmacked!!!

Mike Dixon
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posted 06-12-2021 06:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mike Dixon   Click Here to Email Mike Dixon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Two million dollars a minute?

SkyMan1958
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posted 06-12-2021 08:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SkyMan1958   Click Here to Email SkyMan1958     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In theory, this could all be expensed as a business expense... meeting Bezos and all that. I assume any well run (personally owned) corporation would have accounting and legal departments that could make that argument.

Gordon Eliot Reade
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posted 06-12-2021 10:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gordon Eliot Reade   Click Here to Email Gordon Eliot Reade     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mike Dixon:
Two million dollars a minute?
But the memories will last a lifetime.

Grounded!
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posted 06-13-2021 06:05 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Grounded!   Click Here to Email Grounded!     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
You can't take it with you!

dom
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posted 06-13-2021 01:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dom   Click Here to Email dom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I find it depressing that the world's richest man monetized this historic seat on the first flight. Why didn't he raffle it amongst his hardworking Amazon warehouse staff (the ones who've made him incredibly rich) to reward them for their efforts? This would have been a more noble gesture — rather than money nominally changing hands between two billionaires. One gets the feeling he's only comfortable sharing history with other rich people...

SpaceAholic
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posted 06-13-2021 01:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceAholic   Click Here to Email SpaceAholic     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Congrats to RR and Bezos. A win all away around for private spaceflight, general public, STEM, and the free market!

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-13-2021 02:40 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by dom:
...monetized this historic seat on the first flight.
You can never please everyone. If you gave it away to employees, there would still be someone criticizing why the raffle wasn't open to Prime members, or all Amazon customers (as they were the ones whose money made Blue Origin possible).

It is not like Bezos pocketed the $28 million. All of the high bid amount is going to Blue Origin's non-profit, so what's wrong with wanting to maximize the amount of money raised for STEM education activities?

There will be plenty of seats on New Shepard to raffle off, or otherwise fill through other means than direct purchase. This was only the first.

Larry McGlynn
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posted 06-13-2021 03:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Larry McGlynn   Click Here to Email Larry McGlynn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The back of my head made national news last night.

dom
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posted 06-13-2021 05:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dom   Click Here to Email dom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Robert, it's the symbolism that annoys me. I for one won't be too excited by a sub-orbit "spaceflight" carrying three billionaires.

I'd have been much more invested if he'd given that first seat to someone who couldn't buy their way into the history books. The argument that it's for charity doesn't cut it.

hbw60
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posted 06-13-2021 06:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hbw60   Click Here to Email hbw60     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I agree 100%, Dom. Although I wonder if it's the general principle of the thing, or the fact that I have a long-standing dislike of Jeff Bezos.

If I had his kind of money and power, I'd be doing everything I could do to fix the world. But instead, he's just buying mega-yachts and going to space.

So I wonder if that's why this whole situation annoys me. If another billionaire (like George Lucas) was running Blue Origin and taking the first flight, I wonder if I'd be as bothered. So I try to not let my personal biases get in the way.

But I agree. This whole situation has been depressing for me. It feels like it's a celebration of billionaires having the time of their lives, while the world burns beneath them. Their reckless greed is destroying the environment and furthering human misery. I see no reason to celebrate them continuing to get everything they want.

For me, the idea of spaceflight is about to lose a lot of its former glory.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-13-2021 07:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by hbw60:
...I'd be doing everything I could do to fix the world. But instead, he's just buying mega-yachts and going to space.
You can choose not to believe him, but Bezos believes that the solution to poverty and the world's other problems lies in space. He sees the future as Gerard O'Neill did, but unlike O'Neill, has the resources to help make that future possible.

It may not be the way you would choose to "fix the world," but it is the way Bezos has chosen.

quote:
Originally posted by dom:
I for one won't be too excited by a sub-orbit "spaceflight" carrying three billionaires.
The flight will have four passengers; the fourth will be named soon.

Mark Bezos, Jeff's brother, is not a billionaire (though he is likely a multi-millionaire). He is a volunteer firefighter who helps run a non-profit focused on fighting poverty and runs the Bezos Family Foundation, managing philanthropic projects (including recovering the Apollo F-1 engines from the ocean floor).

We also don't know yet if the auction winner is a billionaire or a multi-millionaire (or perhaps it is someone whose company has financed him or her to fly, though that is less likely).

hbw60
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posted 06-13-2021 09:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hbw60   Click Here to Email hbw60     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That's a fair point, Robert. And I certainly don't want to derail the topic at hand. And of course, only time will tell what sort of effect this has on the world. It's hard to pass judgment so early, when things only become clear in hindsight.

I was born in the 1980s, so I missed the entire Apollo era. I've been fascinated and inspired by it since I was a child, and it's my favorite topic for study. But I often wonder how I would have felt if I'd been born in 1950 instead. Would I still be completely enamored by the Apollo program? Or would I be staging campus protests and calling it a waste of precious resources at a critical moment in American history?

So perhaps in 20 years, I'll have completely changed my tune. If Bezos finds a way to move the manufacturing industry to space, prevents environmental collapse, and uses space colonies to mitigate the overpopulation crisis, then he'll be our biggest hero. At the moment it's hard to be optimistic, but I'd sincerely love to be proven wrong.

damnyankee36
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posted 06-14-2021 02:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for damnyankee36   Click Here to Email damnyankee36     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
As Headshot mentioned last week I would love to see Elon Musk as the winner!

That would be just like him to do that! Unless Bezos eliminated Elon from the flight imagine how all this will go down!

NukeGuy
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posted 06-14-2021 03:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NukeGuy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If Elon Musk is a winning bidder, he should donate his ticket to Richard Branson. Especially if Branson has already been to space in SpaceShipTwo by July 20.

dom
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posted 06-22-2021 09:42 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for dom   Click Here to Email dom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This flight has all the makings of a PR misfire for "brand Bezos."
By Monday morning, more than 77,000 had signed a petition on Change.org demanding the Amazon founder be kept from returning to Earth after participating in the first human space flight launched by his company Blue Origin.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-22-2021 11:33 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Prediction: in a year's time (or likely, less) no one will remember the petition and Bezos' PR with regards to flying in space will be doing just fine.

oly
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posted 06-23-2021 01:14 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for oly   Click Here to Email oly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If Elon Musk has been referred to by some people as a real-life Tony Stark, does this petition indicate some people believe Bezos may be a real-life Dr. Evil? Have people not learnt from movies what happens when you let bald rich people buy islands and go to space!

nasamad
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posted 07-01-2021 11:41 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for nasamad   Click Here to Email nasamad     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Fulfilling a lifelong mission to become an astronaut, Wally Funk will fly to space on New Shepard's first human flight on July 20 as an honored guest. She will join Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, and the auction winner on the flight.
Fantastic news, congrats to Wally, kudos to Jeff Bezos. I can't help thinking Al H would have been so happy at this news. 😀

dom
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posted 07-01-2021 02:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dom   Click Here to Email dom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In fairness, that is a new and interesting angle to the flight...

ejectr
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posted 07-02-2021 02:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ejectr   Click Here to Email ejectr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wow! I met her and had a chance to talk with her when she was in Sebring, Florida at a Light Sport Aircraft show in 2018. Got her autograph in my aviation logbook.

She deserves it and is a heck of a lady. Good for her!

Robert Pearlman
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posted 07-15-2021 09:34 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The New Shepard-16 (NS-16) crew will be:
  • Jeff Bezos, 57
  • Mark Bezos, 53
  • Wally Funk, 82
  • Oliver Daemen, 18
The winner of Blue Origin's auction, who remains anonymous at this time, has chosen to fly on a future New Shepard mission due to scheduling conflicts.

Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk will become the youngest and oldest astronauts to reach space.

Daemen is a physics student from Tilburg, North Brabant, The Netherlands. A Blue Origin spokesperson told CNBC that "he was a participant in the auction and had secured a seat on the second flight."

Daemen's father is Joes Daemen, CEO and founder of Somerset Capital Partners.


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