JEFF BEZOS, BROD TO JOIN BLUE ORIGIN’S 1ST CREWED SPACE FLIGHT

Jeff Bezos will ride his own rocket into space next month, joining the first crew to fly Blue Origin. Bezos announced Monday that, not only will he launch July 20 from Texas, so will his fireman brother, Mark.

Outdoing his fellow billionaires in daredevilry, Jeff Bezos will blast into space next month when his Blue Origin company makes its first flight with a crew, Marcia Dunn reported for Phys.org.

The 57-year-old Amazon founder and richest person in the world by Forbes' estimate will become the first person to ride his own rocket to space.

Bezos announced his intentions Monday and, in an even bolder show of confidence, said he will share the adventure with his younger brother and best friend, Mark, an investor and volunteer firefighter.

He said that will make it more meaningful. He said he had been obsessed with space flights since he was 5-years-old.

Blue Origin's debut flight with people aboard—after 15 successful test flights of its reusable New Shepard rockets—will take place on July 20, a date selected because it is the 52nd anniversary of the first moon landing by Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

The Bezos brothers will launch from remote West Texas alongside the winner of an online charity auction.

There's no word yet on who else might fill the six-person capsule during the 10-minute flight that will take its passengers to an altitude of about 65 miles (105 kilometers), just beyond the edge of space, then return to Earth without going into orbit.

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