We've updated our Privacy and Cookies Policy
We've made some important changes to our Privacy and Cookies Policy and we want you to know what this means for you and your data.
Jeff Bezos: Youngest and oldest astronauts join billionaire on space adventure
Image source, Blue Origin
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos blasted off for a short trip into space - and he took some guests with him.
On 20 July 2021 Jeff, his brother Mark, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen were on board the first manned flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard as it lifted off at 14:12 BST from a private launch site near Van Horn, Texas.
At 18, Oliver was the youngest astronaut ever and at 82 Wally was the oldest.
The passengers experienced about four minutes of weightlessness, and were able to unstrap from their seats to float around and enjoy the views of our Earth far below.
All four passengers have now parachuted safely back to Earth after their 10-minute, 10-second trip.
Image source, Getty Images
The flight comes after billionaire Sir Richard Branson successfully reached the edge of space on board his Virgin Galactic rocket plane last week.
New Shepard was built by Bezos' company Blue Origin, and is designed for the growing market for space tourism.
They travelled in a capsule with the biggest windows flown in space, offering stunning views of the Earth.
Image source, Reuters
After the capsule touched down, Bezos said: "Astronaut Bezos [his callsign]: Best day ever!"
He later said: "My expectations were high and they were dramatically exceeded."
The oldest member of the four-person crew, Mary "Wally" Funk has been involved in flying ever since becoming the first female flight instructor at a US military base at the age of 20.
Image source, Getty Images
In the 1960s, Ms Funk was one member of a group of women called the Mercury 13, who underwent the same screening tests as male astronauts, but never got to fly into space.
She went on to become the first female Air Safety Investigator in the United States and broke down lots of barriers for women who wanted to get involved in flying. That included beginning the fight to get women into space.
Before the flight, she had said she was looking forward to performing somersaults and tumbles in microgravity.
Afterwards she said: "It was great, I loved it, I can hardly wait to go again."
Image source, Blue Origin
The youngest astronaut on the trip, Oliver, is a physics student and got the seat after his dad won an auction and gave it to him.
According to Blue Origin the flight has been a lifelong dream for the teenager "who has been fascinated by space, the Moon and rockets since he was four".