Bezos in Space: What the Blue Origin Flight Will Be Like

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In a secluded desert area of western Texas, just outside of Van Horn, a town of about 1,800 people, you will arrive at Blue Origin’s astronaut village four days before the flight. After two days of astronaut training where you will meet the pilots, learn about weightlessness and spend time in a mock capsule, you will be ready for the space flight. Blue Origin said the rocket is fully autonomous and traveling in its spacecraft requires minimal training.

You will be catching a ride with Mr. Bezos and his brother, Mark Bezos. “Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space,” Mr. Bezos said in an Instagram post. “On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend.”

Liftoff! As the New Shepard rocket accelerates to Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound (more than 2,000 miles an hour), you will experience G-forces up to three times Earth’s gravitational force. Also on board will be 82-year-old aviator Wally Funk. In the 1960s, Ms. Funk was one of the first 13 American women to train for space flight, but the program was canceled, and she never made it to space. She later became the first female Federal Aviation Administration inspector and first female National Transportation Safety Board air-safety investigator. At 18 and 82, respectively, Mr. Daemen and Ms. Funk, will become the youngest and oldest astronauts to travel to space.

At 2 minutes and 45 seconds: The booster will separate from the capsule at about 228,000 feet. New Shepard has made 15 successful uncrewed test flights over the past six years from its West Texas base, which the company said demonstrates the mission’s safety.

At 3 minutes: As you approach space, you will begin to experience zero gravity. You can float around freely. Blue Origin says New Shepard’s capsule offers the largest windows in space—about one third of the capsule is window. Unbuckle and enjoy.

At 4 minutes: You will reach the top of the flight. Enjoy the $28 million view—it won’t last long. You will be just above the Karman Line, an imaginary boundary about 62 miles above sea level considered by many to be the beginning of space. And you will be a few miles higher than Richard Branson recently flew aboard his Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. spacecraft, which maxed out below the Karman Line.

At 6 minutes: Time to head home. Please return to your seat and be sure to buckle up as gravity will be returning with a vengeance—up to 5 1/2 G’s during this descent, around the forces you would feel on the most extreme roller coasters.

At 7 minutes and 30 seconds: The New Shepard’s booster rocket will land itself back on Earth about 2 miles away from takeoff, to be used again in a future mission.

At 9 minutes: After re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, New Shepard’s parachutes will deploy and float down at about 16 miles an hour. The capsule’s safety features include backup systems, special seats designed to flex and absorb impact, the ability to land with only two of its three parachutes deployed and a rocket to adjust the thrust and slow the capsule down to about one mile an hour.

At around 10 to 12 minutes: Land in the West Texas desert and share a high five with Jeff Bezos. You did it! You are now one of the first 600 people to visit space.