Blue Origin to start flying tourists on New Shepard suborbital vehicle in 2019

Blue Origin, a privately funded aerospace company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has said it will start sending tourists on its New Shepard suborbital vehicle early this year, even though it has not determined the ticket prices yet.

"We are aiming to fly people early in 2019, but let's be very clear - we have also said this before - only when we are ready ... We are so focused right now on testing New Shepard through and through," Ariane Cornell, the head of astronaut strategy and sales at Blue Origin, said, as quoted by the SpaceNews media outlet on Tuesday.

However, the company has not started to sell tickets yet, the executive noted.

"We do not have a price yet. We have not determined when we are going to sell tickets," Cornell underlined.

In July, media reported, citing sources, that tickets for Blue Origin's suborbital flights would cost about $200,000-$300,000 each.

The New Shepard could fly six passengers over 62 miles (100 km) above Earth into suborbital space atop of its 60-foot-tall rocket. Its observation windows allow each passenger to see the planet for a few minutes before the pressurized capsule will return to Earth under parachutes, according to media reports.

Source: Sputnik News

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