by HB Auld, Jr.
Today is the 52nd anniversary of the first men landing on the moon, July 20, 1969. On this day, American Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon while Michael Collins orbited the moon above them in Apollo 11.
And today is also the inaugural flight of American billionaire Jeff Bezos’ launch of his space capsule, Blue Origin. While this is a sub-orbital flight that lasts only 11 minutes with four crew members aboard, this is a commercial flight that takes the next step into space.
On board the Blue Origin capsule are: Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world and owner of the Blue Origin capsule; his younger brother and firefighter, Mark Bezos; Wally Funk, the oldest woman at 82 and an original Mercury 13 astronaut; and 18-year old Oliver Daemen, a Dutch teenager and the youngest human to ever fly in space.
From humble beginnings, billionaire Jeff Bezos is a self-made man who today became one of the first Americans to fly into space aboard a commercial civilian space capsule.
Bezos is the son of a 16-year old mother whose father deserted his family. He gave up his job in New York and traveled to Seattle, WA, to found Amazon, a tiny online bookseller. He worked in the mailroom of his own company, packing books, and then drove the packages himself to the post office. Today, he owns an online empire that includes the largest retailer in the world, Amazon, as well as Whole Foods and media juggernaut, The Washington Post. He is the richest man in the world, worth more than 200 billion dollars. Now, he is also the owner of a commercial space-exploration company, Blue Origin, that is destined to be a leader in commercial civilian space travel for decades to come.
Today is a great day to be an American!
God bless America.
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