My Dream Vacation: Space

Who is the founder of Apple? Who is the founder of Microsoft? Who is the founder of Facebook? I’m sure you had no problem answering Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. But who is the founder of amazon? A little bit trickier of a question… the answer is Jeff Bezo. Along with Jobs, Gates, and Zuckerberg, Bezo is also extremely successful as Amazon is the largest retailer on the internet. I know I use Amazon for their precise, two-day shipping multiple times a month. However, are you aware that the same founder and CEO of amazon.com is also creating a privately funded space program? It’s called Blue Origin. It has been around since 2005 but has come across a great amount success in the last year.

As a child, I was always interested in space. At one time, I wanted to be an astronaut. I have books about space and I have seen about almost every space movie. Pictures of earth are still astonishing to me today. My dad came home one night and told me about the Blue Origin program and I was surprised I had not heard of it before. The idea to experience space first hand like an astronaut would be amazing, but how is this possible? I have decided to research and learn more about Blue Origin’s program because I feel it has not been covered in modern-day news or social media.

The idea behind Blue Origin is for ordinary humans, like you and I, to experience space. Blue Origin’s rocket is known as New Shepard. The New Shepard has two parts known as the booster and capsule. The capsule would contain humans and the booster would lift the humans into space. Six humans would be able to fit into the capsule.

New Shepard would take off in the Texas dessert. It would be very similar to any other rocket in space history. After about two and half minutes or over 103 kilometers in the air, the booster and capsule would separate. The booster will begin its journey to return to the Texas dessert while the capsule would suspend into space. At this point, you would feel a zero-gravity environment and be advised by telecommunication to unfasten your harness. This zero gravity environment is one we can only dream about. Can you imagine having no gravity keeping you to your seat? I think that thought is mind-blowing. Along with the free floating weightlessness feeling, you will witness breath-taking views of earth from the largest window in space history. When it is time to return to earth, you will strap yourself back into your seat and begin the descent into Earth’s atmosphere. Upon return to Earth, you will deploy three parachutes for a soft landing very close to where you lifted off from.

That trip sounds awesome, right? So awesome that it must cost a lot of money. Space travel has always been extremely expensive. However, the New Shepard system is fully reusable making it more affordable long term. There is also a special escape option within the capsule, if needed. The trip would also come with extensive training days before takeoff as well as videos and pictures for a lifetime memory. Blue Origin is only beginning its extensive testing with four successful trips (without humans) since November 2015. I hope one day I am able to experience this amazing and breathtaking adventure.

**The technology and theories behind Blue Origin were a little extensive for this article (and myself). For more information on this astonishing topic please visit the Blue Origin website.