Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' venture, Blue Origin, is on the road to selling commercial flights into space. Bezos is highly secretive about the 7-year-old venture, but according to the company's Web site, Blue Origin is developing a vertical take-off and landing vehicle that can take several astronauts on suborbital flight into space. Late last year, it held a successful test launch and landing of Goddard, an early unmanned prototype of its rocket, called the New Shepard. During the test, the Goddard reached a peak altitude of 285 feet before it slowed to a stop and began its descent.
In filings with the Federal Aviation Administration, Blue Origin said it plans to test its vehicles through 2009; and by the following year, it might begin passenger trips. Once operational, it plans as many as 52 launches annually.
Earlier this year, Bezos updated the Blue Origin Web site with a call for "hard-working, technically gifted" aerospace engineers. The company is based in Seattle and operates a research and development facility in Kent, Wash. Science fiction author Neal Stephenson is reportedly a part-time adviser to the company.
Photo by Blue Origin
