Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

60th anniversary of first American in space: Bezos, Musk, Branson are new liftoff leaders

60th anniversary of first American in space: Bezos, Musk, Branson are new liftoff leaders

Sixty years to the day that NASA astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard the Freedom 7 rocket, U.S. business leaders are continuing to help the country make major strides in space exploration.

The increased demand for commercial spaceflight and efforts by billionaires Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk has sparked innovation including NASA's daring Moon to Mars initiative.

Since Shepard's 15-minute, 116-mile May 5, 1961 flight – on the heels of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's flight – the U.S. has landed humans on the moon and sent more than 150 NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for important scientific research.

In addition, The Associated Press reported Wednesday that 579 people have entered space, with nearly two-thirds of the crew members American.

Spaceflight has dramatically changed over the past few decades, with the introduction of "space tourism."

In this Friday, May 4, 2001 file photo, reporters and officials at the Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia, outside Moscow, watch U.S. space tourist, Californian businessman Dennis Tito speaking from inside the International Space Station. Russ


SpaceX founder Musk said after the successful launch of the company's Crew-2 mission last month that he believes the world is at the dawn of a new space exploration era and looks forward to attempting to make humanity a "spacefaring civilization and a multiplanet species one day."

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and eight dearMoon contest winners are slated to launch onboard the SpaceX Starship for the trip of a lifetime in 2023.

NASA recently awarded Musk and the Starship – which is set for another test flight in Boca Chica, Texas on Wednesday afternoon – with the highly coveted $2.89 billion contract for the agency's ambitious Human Landing System (HLS) program that will land Artemis program astronauts on the moon in 2024.

FILE - This Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017 photo provided by Blue Origin shows the New Shepard Crew Capsule 2.0 after landing in west Texas during a test. Named after the first American in space, Alan Shepard, the spacecraft made a 10-minute suborbital fligh

Musk is not the only one with skin in the game.

Bezos' Blue Origin – which filed a protest regarding NASA's decision on the HLS contract -- said Wednesday it would auction off a seat for the company's first crew spaceflight aboard the rocket New Shepard.

That flight is targeted for the anniversary of the July 20 Apollo 11 moon landing.

Virgin Galactic's Branson also aims to begin tourist spaceflights in 2022.

Support teams work around the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, and Victor Glover, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi aboard in the

Although price tags vary, trips to space aren't cheap.

The first space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, paid $20 million to visit the space station in May 2001.

On Sunday, NASA's human spaceflight chief, Kathy Lueders, told reporters that goal is "one day that everyone’s a space person."

SpaceX's Crew-1 mission astronauts had successfully splashed down in waters off the Florida coast – successfully completing the company's first full-fledged crewed mission to the ISS.

"We’re very excited to see it starting to take off," she added.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×