- Jeff Bezos says taking off on his first spaceflight felt like attending his personal memorial service.
- Bezos informed podcaster Lex Fridman that his family and friends had been visibly nervous earlier than the flight.
- “They’re saying goodbye to us, however possibly they suppose they’re saying goodbye to us perpetually,” he stated.
Taking off into house was an emotionally charged expertise for Jeff Bezos.
The Amazon founder was a member of the primary crewed flight for his spaceflight firm, Blue Origin’s rocket launch in July 2021.
For Bezos, the feelings began hitting him even earlier than he boarded his rocket.
“The folks on the bottom had been very nervous for us. It was truly some of the emotionally highly effective elements of the expertise. It occurred even earlier than the flight,” Bezos stated on the most recent episode of the “Lex Fridman Podcast,” which aired on Thursday.
Bezos informed Fridman that he wasn’t nervous then, however he may sense how apprehensive his family and friends members had been.
“They’re saying goodbye to us, however possibly they suppose they’re saying goodbye to us perpetually. We’d not have felt that manner, however it was apparent from their faces how nervous they had been, and so they felt that manner,” Bezos recounted to Fridman.
“It was virtually like attending your personal memorial service or one thing. You might really feel how liked you had been in that second, and it was actually superb,” he stated.
Bezos flew to house with three different crew members — his youthful brother Mark, American aviator Wally Funk, and Dutch youth Oliver Daemen. The whole launch and flight took simply 11 minutes and was executed autonomously with none pilots.
House journey is now Bezos’ prime pursuit. The billionaire informed Fridman that he stepped down as Amazon CEO in order that he may focus on Blue Origin.
The rocket firm, which was based by Bezos in 2000, has developed three house automobiles so far — the New Shepard, New Glenn, and Blue Moon.
“Most of my time is spent on Blue Origin and I am so deeply concerned right here now for the final couple of years,” Bezos informed Fridman.
Representatives for Bezos didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider despatched exterior common enterprise hours.
