On Tuesday, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is scheduled to be on board the first human-crewed spaceflight launched by his startup, Blue Origin. Bezos, who is also still executive chairman of Amazon—he formally stepped down as CEO on July 5, the anniversary of the company’s 1994 incorporation—will be joined by three other passengers.
Among the passengers for the flight planned for the anniversary of NASA’s first successful moon trip is 82-year-old Wally Funk, who received astronaut training through a 1960s program for women pilots. Like the other eminently qualified women in the project, Funk—despite blazing trails at the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board—never made it to space in the era’s sexist climate. After the anonymous winner of a $28 million auction to join the spaceflight pulled out due to a scheduling conflict, the third seat went to 18-year-old Oliver Daemen; his father, private equity exec Joes Daemen, had won a…
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Source : fastcompany.com
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