By Paul RinconScience editor, BBC News website
Billionaire Jeff Bezos has made a short journey to space, in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard.
He was accompanied by Mark Bezos, his brother, Wally Funk, an 82-year-old pioneer of the space race, and an 18-year-old student.
They travelled in a capsule with the biggest windows flown in space, offering stunning views of the Earth.
When the capsule touched back down after the 10-minute, 10-second flight, Jeff Bezos exclaimed: "Best day ever!"
New Shepard, built by Bezos' company Blue Origin, is designed to serve the burgeoning market for space tourism.
Amazon founder Mr Bezos - and other participants in the "billionaire space race" - have been criticised for offering what some see as joy rides for the super-wealthy. Critics say the money could be spent on pay rises for employees or fighting climate change.
However, Mr Bezos insists he has an environmental vision: "We need to take all heavy industry, all polluting industry and move it into space, and keep Earth as this beautiful gem of a planet that it is," he told MSNBC.
"It's going to take decades and decades to achieve, but you have to start, and big things start with small steps... that's what this sub-orbital tourism mission allows us to do, it allows us to practice over and over."
Blue Origin
On this flight was the oldest person who has been to space - Ms Funk - and the youngest, student Oliver Daemen.
The spacecraft lifted off at 14:12 BST (09:12 EDT) from a private launch site near Van Horn, Texas.
At a post-launch news briefing, Jeff Bezos said: "My expectations were high and they were dramatically exceeded."
Two minutes into the flight, the capsule separated from its rocket and continued upwards towards the Karman Line - the most widely recognised boundary of space, that lies 100km up. The newly minted-astronauts shouted "wow!" and cheered.
Blue Origin
The post-flight briefing was shown video of the occupants performing somersaults and tumbles during four minutes of weightlessness. Stunning views of the Earth could be seen outside.
Jeff Bezos said he was surprised by the sensation of microgravity: "It felt so normal," he explained.
Ms Funk added: "It was great, I loved it, I can hardly wait to go again."
In the 1960s, Ms Funk was one member of a group of women called the Mercury 13. They underwent the same screening tests as male astronauts, but never got to fly under the US national space programme.
Mr Bezos told CBS News on Monday: "Wally can outrun all of us. During the Mercury 13, she was better than all the men and I can guarantee that's still true today."
Bezos' brother Mark, 53, is a senior vice president at Robin Hood, a New York-based charity.
Oliver Daemen is the son of a Dutch financier. He had originally secured a seat on the second flight, but was drafted in to replaced the anonymous winner of a public auction who had to pull out from the trip with Bezos.
The capsule reached a maximum altitude of around 107km (351,210ft) before starting its descent, parachuting down to a soft landing in the West Texas desert.
Blue Origin
Blue Origin
On the way down, Jeff Bezos told mission control: "You have a very happy crew up here."
Mark revealed that iconic items from aviation history were brought along on the flight. These included a piece of canvas used on the Wright brothers' first plane, a medallion made from the vehicle that performed the first hot air balloon flight in 1783 and a pair of goggles used by pilot Amelia Earhart.
Jeff Bezos recently resigned as chief executive of Amazon, the e-commerce giant he founded, in order to concentrate on his other ventures, including Blue Origin.
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Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin
Jeff Bezos is the billionaire founder of Amazon and the founder of Blue Origin, a private aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight services company. Blue Origin aims to develop technologies to enable human space travel and make space more accessible. The company's flagship rocket is called New Shepard, which is designed for suborbital space tourism flights. The recent crewed flight mentioned in the article was the first human flight of New Shepard, with Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, Wally Funk, and Oliver Daemen as passengers .
New Shepard Flight Details
The New Shepard spacecraft lifted off from a private launch site near Van Horn, Texas. It reached a maximum altitude of around 107km (351,210ft), which is above the Kármán Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. The capsule separated from its rocket and continued upwards before descending back to Earth. The flight lasted approximately 10 minutes and 10 seconds. The capsule had large windows that provided stunning views of the Earth. After landing, Jeff Bezos expressed his excitement, calling it the "best day ever" .
Passengers on the Flight
The crew on the New Shepard flight included Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, Wally Funk, and Oliver Daemen. Wally Funk, at 82 years old, became the oldest person to go to space, while Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old student, became the youngest. Wally Funk is a pioneer of the space race and was part of the Mercury 13 program, a group of women who underwent the same screening tests as male astronauts in the 1960s. However, they did not get the opportunity to fly under the US national space program at that time .
Blue Origin's Vision and Criticisms
Jeff Bezos has expressed a vision for Blue Origin that goes beyond space tourism. He believes that heavy and polluting industries should be moved into space to preserve Earth as a beautiful planet. Bezos has stated that this vision will take decades to achieve, but the sub-orbital tourism missions allow them to practice and take small steps towards that goal.
However, Blue Origin and other participants in the "billionaire space race" have faced criticism for offering space tourism experiences to the super-wealthy. Critics argue that the money spent on such ventures could be used for other purposes, such as employee pay raises or addressing climate change .
Please note that the information provided here is based on the available sources and may not include the most recent developments.
