Jeff Bezos finally visits space — 9 days after Richard Branson

Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, has completed a brief trip to space, nine days after Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, became the first billionaire to travel to space in his spaceship.

Bezos, the 57-year-old businessman, alongside four other persons, yesterday, took off in New Shepard, a rocket named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

The spacecraft, built by Blue Origin, a rocket company owned by Bezos, rose from the company’s launch site in Van Horn, Texas, shortly before 9:15 and returned safely just after 9:30 Eastern time.

Blue Origin has launched New Shepard 15 times, and all had landed safely in space without anyone onboard.

Even though the flight did not enter orbit, it was a milestone for the company that the investor started more than 20 years ago, the first time a Blue Origin vehicle carried people to space.

According to report, one of the three persons that travelled with Bezos on the New Shepherd is Mark Bezos, his 50-year-old brother, who is also the co-founder and general partner at HighPost Capital, a private equity firm.

Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old student from the Netherlands, who had purchased a ticket on the second flight, happened to be the third passenger, while Mary Wallace Funk, an 82-year-old American astronaut, completed the team of four that landed on space with Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.