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<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/virgin-galactic-stock-price-target-spce-ubs-analyst-rating-branson-2021-7">Virgin Galactic</a> plans to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-to-launch-to-space-before-jeff-bezos-2021-7">fly its first full crew</a> to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-jeff-bezos-astronaut-edge-of-space-2021-6">edge of space on Sunday</a>, including founder <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-virgin-galactic-with-blue-origins-jeff-bezos-2021-7">Richard Branson</a>.</li><li><keyword id="6360701" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="spacex">SpaceX</keyword> CEO Elon Musk implied on Twitter he would be at the launch to watch the flight.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virgin-galactic-space-flight-may-2021-5">Virgin Galactic's space plane</a> is set to fly with Branson on board just days before <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-risk-blue-origin-rocket-2021-6">Jeff Bezos's launch</a>.</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-to-launch-to-space-before-jeff-bezos-2021-7">Richard Branson</a> is set to make history on Sunday by becoming the first person to launch to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-richard-branson-blue-origin-virgin-galactic-karman-line-2021-7">the edge of space</a> on his own company's commercial vehicle, and Elon Musk might be there to watch him make the trip.</p><p>Musk, the CEO of Tesla and his own <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="space">space</keyword> company, SpaceX, wished Branson well on the journey and implied that he would be at the launch site in New Mexico to watch the <keyword id="130495" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Virgin-galactic">Virgin Galactic</keyword> flight.</p><p>"Will see you there to wish you the best," Musk wrote on Twitter after retweeting Branson's message about Sunday's planned journey.</p><p><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/virgin-galactic-stock-price-target-spce-ubs-analyst-rating-branson-2021-7">Virgin Galactic</a>'s SpaceShipTwo is set to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-to-launch-to-space-before-jeff-bezos-2021-7">fly</a> its first full crew, including Branson, to an altitude of 55 miles on Sunday. Once the VSS Unity space plane reaches that level, the pilots cut the engines and allow the vehicle to drift. Passengers can feel weightless for about five minutes. Through the space plane's 17 windows, the four crew members and two pilots should be able to see the Earth curving below them.</p><p>"I can't wait," Branson told <a href="https://www.today.com/news/richard-branson-gives-today-exclusive-look-virgin-spaceship-t224470">NBC's Today</a>. "At that moment, we will have become astronauts. I will pinch myself and pinch myself again and again."</p><p>Musk's well wishes come hours after another space company founded by a billionaire, Blue Origin, said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-says-branson-space-flight-wont-count-2021-7">Virgin Galactic's plane won't actually reach space</a> because it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virgin-galactic-richard-branson-spaceflight-2021-7">doesn't pass the Kármán line</a> 62 miles up.</p><p>Blue Origin's founder, ex-Amazon CEO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-risk-blue-origin-rocket-2021-6">Jeff Bezos, also plans to travel to space this month</a> with a trip set for July 20th.</p>

Elon Musk wishes Richard Branson well ahead of his space flight, implies he will be there to watch the Virgin Galactic launch

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="6360701" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="spacex">SpaceX</keyword> moon-lander project is on hold pending review by the Government Accountability Office.</li><li><keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword> ordered the halt after competing firms Dynetics and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin filed complaints.</li><li>The <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="space">space</keyword> agency initially said it would choose two companies before awarding SpaceX a sole contract.</li></ul><p>SpaceX's moon-lander project for NASA has been put on hold after rival bidders Dynetics and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin filed challenges with the Government Accountability Office.</p><p>The US space agency told SpaceX to halt its work on the project, which aims to land humans on the moon as early as 2024, until the dispute can be resolved. </p><p>"NASA instructed SpaceX that progress on the HLS contract has been suspended until GAO resolves all outstanding litigation related to this procurement," the space agency said in a statement Friday reported by <a href="https://spacenews.com/dynetics-hls-protest-argues-nasa-should-have-revised-competition-after-budget-shortfall/">Jeff Foust for Space News</a>.</p><p>In Dynetics' complaint, which was co-signed by Blue Origin, the company argues that NASA should have withdrawn its request for bids for the lunar project once it became clear it didn't have enough funding to proceed with two companies, as it had originally planned.</p><p>In awarding to SpaceX alone, Dynetics argued, NASA chose "the most anti-competitive and high risk option available."</p><p>SpaceX received the exclusive $2.9 billion contract earlier this month, after bidding a much lower price than the competitors offered, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/option-a-source-selection-statement-final.pdf">NASA said</a>.</p><p>The move was met with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-nasa-contract-industry-reaction-blue-origin-space-moon-2021-4">skepticism from the Blue Origin team</a>, who filed a 50-page protest with the GAO.</p><p>In a statement to Insider earlier this week, Bezos' company described the award as "flawed," adding that NASA "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-elon-musk-spacex-nasa-contract-flawed-2021-4">moved the goal posts</a> at the last minute."</p><p>In its filing, Blue Origin said NASA set a project target cost of $6 billion - more than double SpaceX's $2.9 billion proposal.</p><p>The company said NASA negotiated a proposed price with SpaceX, but not with Blue Origin, which it said was unfair.</p><p>NASA <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/option-a-source-selection-statement-final.pdf">responded</a> by saying budget concerns and lack of Congressional funding meant it had to go with a single competitor. The agency reportedly received about a quarter of the total $3.3 billion budget allocation it requested for 2021.</p>

SpaceX told to suspend work on NASA's moon-lander project until a challenge by Jeff Bezos' rival space company is resolved

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>Blue Origin, the space flight project launched by Jeff Bezos in 2000, has set a goal to reach the moon by 2023.&#xa0;</strong></li><li><strong>The plan, named Blue Moon, is aimed at preparing the moon for an eventually permanent settlement of humans.</strong></li><li><strong>Blue Origin has been testing reusable space rockets, and plans on venturing into space tourism as well.</strong></li></ul><p>If everything goes according to plan, Blue Origin will reach the moon by 2023.&#xa0;</p><p>The space exploration company, founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2000, <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2018/blue-origin-targets-moon-landing-2023-early-step-toward-lunar-settlement/">has laid out plans for bringing larger payloads to the lunar surface</a> - which is a precursor to human settlements, it says.</p><p>At the&#xa0;<span>Space Frontier Foundation's NewSpace conference in Renton, Washington,&#xa0;A.C. Charania, Blue Origin's development director, said the program is an important step to eventually be able to land many metric tons on the moon. Any mission aimed at human settlements would need this capability, he added.</span></p><p><span>Charania added that Blue Origin is hoping to land partnerships with organizations like NASA in order to continue landing on the moon with "larger and larger payloads."</span></p><p><span>In April, Blue Origin <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-mission-8-rocket-launch-2018-4">successfully completed a launch and re-entry</a> with a reusable rocket that lands back on Earth after the flight is completed. It was the eighth test flight of its New Shepherd rocket.</span></p><p><span>The company is also planning on venturing into space tourism, which it hopes to start selling tickets for by 2019. In 2015, Blue Origin said it <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-blue-origin-planning-human-test-flights-to-space-by-2017-2016-3">planned to send humans to space in test flights</a> by 2017 - a goal it didn't reach. </span></p><p><strong>Watch: Jeff Bezos explains the plan for a lunar settlement</strong></p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/celluveyor-conveyor-belt-move-direction-packages-warehouses-factories-2018-6">This conveyor belt can move in any direction</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div></hr>

Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin plans to land on the moon by 2023

<p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/gallery">Blue Orgin</a></span></p><p class="caption">Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and Blue Origin.</p><p>In 2000, with his six-year-old business Amazon.com well on its way to becoming a retail empire, Jeff Bezos quietly launched his childhood dream: a rocket company.</p><p>Called Blue Origin, Bezos kept the operation cloaked in secrecy for many years; only the <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6822763/">occasional interview</a>, or <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a11823/what-is-jeff-bezos-building-out-there/">rare explosion</a> in the deserts of west Texas (where test flights occur), divulged his plans. The company's initial goal was to launch people to the edge of space and back - all while recovering the rocket to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/reusable-rockets-musk-bezos-space-colonies-2017-3">dramatically lower the cost of flight</a>.</p><p>Yet Blue Origin has since dramatically expanded from a enigmatic startup to an employer of more than 1,000 people, according to the company's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/40018/">LinkedIn profile</a>. (A representative for Blue Origin declined to tell Business Insider how many people the company employs or has employed in the past.)</p><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/news#youtube9pillaOxGCo">Blue Origin</a></span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of the New Shepard space capsule entering suborbital space.</p>As it <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-new-shepard-spaceship-inside-images-2017-3">finalizes designs</a> for its suborbital space tourism business, Blue Origin's ambitions grow to low-Earth orbit and beyond. The company has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-jeff-bezos-rocket-company-blue-origin-signs-eutelsat-as-first-customer-2017-3">signed deals</a> to ferry payloads into space, is tailoring <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/heres-why-the-imminent-test-of-jeff-bezos-be-4-rocket-engine-is-a-huge-deal/">powerful new rocket engines</a> in support of military satellite launches, and is developing a reusable <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-vs-spacex-falcon-heavy-vs-new-glenn-2016-9">super-heavy-lift rocket</a> that'd rival those of both NASA and SpaceX.<p>"Our vision is millions of people living and working in space," Bezos said in an email sent to reporters in September 2016.</p><p>As its careers page reveals, Blue Origin is looking to hire nearly 100 people to help fuel those ambitions.</p><h2>The jobs currently available at Blue Origin</h2><p class="source"><span><a href="https://d3p0rr00ppgdfa.cloudfront.net/themes/site_theme/images/updates/news-releases/2015-09-30/BE-4-Web.jpg">Blue Origin</a></span></p><p class="caption">Blue Origin test-fires one of its rocket engines.</p><p>Blue Origin's careers page offers a huge variety of jobs across three locations.</p><p>Of the 92 positions open as of May 1, 2017, some 84 are based out of Kent, Washington (the company's headquarters); four are located in Van Horn, Texas (where test launches often occur); and four are in Cape Canaveral, Florida (where Blue Origin plans to launch its giant new rocket system, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-new-glenn-rockets-2016-9">the New Glenn</a>).</p><p>About 50% of the positions call for engineers, 16% for project or service managers, 13% for technicians, 3% for specialists, and 3% for inspectors.</p><p class="source"><span>Blue Origin</span></p><p class="caption">A launch of the New Shepard reusable rocket system.</p>Most of the jobs are highly technical and come with titles like "<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/careers/job/8a7884494eb94f72014ed171d24b3e5c">dimensional inspector</a>" or "<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/careers/job/8a321814481fc12f01484723497d6ae4">robotic laser operator</a>" or "<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/careers/job/8a78842b5b899d43015b8d0fdb2f7dac">supply chain strategic commodity manager for composites</a>". As a result, dozens of the positions require multiple degrees or up-close experience working with rocket engines, robots, software, explosive fuels, or other high-tech systems.<p>Yet some are more familiar-sounding.</p><p>For instance, Blue Origin is looking for a <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/careers/job/8a7880ec55712c6d015599716f4738a7">staff attorney</a> to help it negotiate rocket-launch contracts.</p><p>If you have an eye for young talent, there's also an <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/careers/job/8a7880ec564485c901564d77232b5460">outreach coordinator</a> gig to work with universities.</p><p>And like all big modern companies, Blue Origin has a need for an <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/careers/job/8a78824750eb315501511d7629a70648">accounts payable</a> staffer, plus <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/careers/job/8a7886f851d36dca0152195cba143ab2">helpdesk</a> <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/careers/job/8a78845d598c166d0159afc1f6741527">technicians</a> (two of them) to troubleshoot software, computer hardware, and other issues with its information technology infrastructure.</p><p>Bezos also offers a <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/careers/job/8acf169145a191130145aa76d22604de">general application</a> to find people that don't yet fit anywhere.</p><p>"We want to hear from talented people who believe in our mission," the posting says. "If you're passionate about space exploration, feel free to send us your resume and cover letter, even if you don't fit one of our currently open positions."</p><h2>What it's like to interview at Blue Origin</h2><p class="source"><span><a href="https://d3p0rr00ppgdfa.cloudfront.net/themes/site_theme/images/gallery/04_bo_finalcelebration_download.jpg">Blue Origin</a></span></p><p>If you're thinking of applying and hope to be interviewed at Blue Origin, you may need to steel yourself.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BlueOrigin/comments/55c0cj/getting_a_job_at_blue_origin/d8a1xgy/">a 2016 post by Reddit user tuntini31</a>, it's not unusual for top candidates to be required to give a presentations to multiple vice president-level department leads, then meet individually with those managers (among other one-on-one interviews).</p><p>"I thought I did well, though, apparently not because I did not receive an offer," tuntini31 wrote.</p><p>Reviews left by alleged applicants at the jobs site Glassdoor.com <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/Blue-Origin-Interview-Questions-E782684.htm">also state</a> that multiple in-depth technical interviews are common.</p><p>The process also may not be quick; one applicant who got a job offer said it took "<a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/Blue-Origin-Interview-RVW12241462.htm">12+ months</a>" to receive it from the moment he or she applied.</p><p><em>Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.</em></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-launches-first-used-rocket-ses-10-2017-3">Watch SpaceX change the game for spaceflight by launching and landing its first used rocket in history</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Jeff Bezos has job openings for nearly 100 people at Blue Origin - here's who his rocket company is hiring

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Stephane Mahe</span></p><p class="caption">The peloton passes hay bales on fire.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Here is what you need to know. </p><p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-theresa-may-brexit-proposal-will-kill-uk-us-trade-deal-2018-7">Trump says Theresa May's Brexit plan would "kill" a US-UK trade deal</a>. </strong>"If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal," Trump told the British tabloid The Sun. </p><p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tariffs-trade-war-hurt-business-jerome-powell-2018-7?r=UK&amp;IR=T">Trump's trade wars are starting to worry businesses</a>. </strong><span>Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal that business contacts across the US have sounded the alarm about Trump's trade policy to the 12 Federal Reserve branches.</span></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-largest-trade-surplus-with-the-us-2018-7">China's trade surplus with the US swells</a>. </strong>China's trade surplus with the US swelled to $41.61 billion in June, data from <span>China's National Bureau of Statistics showed Friday. That's </span>up from the $24.92 billion surplus in May, and well ahead of the $27.6 billion surplus that economists were expecting.</p><p><strong><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/the-nasdaq-hits-an-all-time-high-2018-7-1027364046">The Nasdaq hits a record high</a>. </strong>The tech-heavy index closed at 7823.92 on Thursday, making for its first record close since June 20. </p><p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tariffs-china-trade-war-where-goldman-sachs-says-you-should-invest-2018-7">Goldman Sachs explains where to put your money as trade tensions heat up</a>. </strong>The bank has four strategies that should keep investors on track for healthy returns.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jj-ordered-to-pay-469-billion-to-women-after-claims-its-products-gave-them-cancer-2018-7">The Justice department is appealing the $85 billion AT&amp;T-Time Warner merger</a>. </strong>During the case, the Justice Department argued the merger would limit competition and drive up prices for consumers. </p><p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jj-ordered-to-pay-469-billion-to-women-after-claims-its-products-gave-them-cancer-2018-7">Johnson &amp; Johnson is ordered to pay the 6th largest product-defect award in US history</a>. </strong>A St. Louis jury awarded $4.69 billion to the 22 women who said its baby powder gave them ovarian cancer. </p><p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-space-blue-origin-how-much-does-it-cost-2018-7">Jeff Bezos is planning to charge at least $200,000 for rides to space</a>. </strong>Bezos' rocket company, Blue Orgin, will charge a minimum of $200,000 for its first trips into space next year, Reuters reports, citing a an employee. </p><p><strong><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/earnings-calendar#date=07/13/2018&amp;name=&amp;countries=&amp;eventtypes=99&amp;tab=ALL">A trio of banks kick off earnings season</a>.</strong> JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo all report ahead of the opening bell. </p><p><strong><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/economic-calendar#date=07/13/2018&amp;name=&amp;countries=us&amp;eventtypes=&amp;tab=1,2,3">US economic data keeps coming</a>. </strong>Import and export prices will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET and University of Michigan consumer confidence will cross the wires at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.84%. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blue-man-group-behind-the-scenes-new-york-city-2018-6">What it takes to be a Blue Man</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

10 things you need to know before the opening bell

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/news/">Virgin Galactic; MarsScientific.com/Trumbull Studios</a></span></p><p class="caption">SpaceShipTwo, or VSS Unity, launches toward the edge of space for the second time on February 22, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Virgin Galactic, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/space-tourism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">space tourism</a> company founded by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/richard-branson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richard Branson</a>, launched its first passenger past the edge of space on Friday.</li><li>Beth Moses, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/virgin-galactic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virgin Galactic</a>'s chief astronaut instructor, was the passenger. She was accompanied by two pilots.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/spaceshiptwo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceShipTwo</a>, named "VSS Unity," rocketed the crew to nearly 56 miles above Earth, providing a few minutes of weightlessness.</li><li>But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/jeff-bezos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeff Bezos</a>, who's starting his own space tourism company, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/blue-origin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blue Origin</a>, questioned the capabilities of Virgin Galactic earlier this week.</li><li>Bezos said vehicles should fly above 62 miles - an internationally recognized boundary of space - to avoid leaving "asterisks" next to any space traveler's name.</li></ul><p>Richard Branson's company, Virgin Galactic, has flown its first passenger on a rocket-powered spaceship.</p><p>The flight is part of a decades-long effort by multiple companies to usher in an era of frequent and safe <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-blue-origin-virgin-galactic-space-tourism-2018-9">suborbital space tourism</a>, in which vehicles can fly high enough to briefly enter space, provide minutes of zero-gravity, and then return to the ground.</p><p>On Friday, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo vehicle, named "VSS Unity," did just that. Unity lifted off the ground under the wings of a double-bodied airplane mothership called WhiteKnightTwo. Once at the proper altitude, the vehicle dropped from its mothership, ignited a rubber-fuel rocket engine, and soared high above Earth.</p><p>Unity accelerated to about three times the speed of sound and reached an altitude of 55.87 miles (89.9 km), according <a href="https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1099001460027645952" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to Virgin Galactic</a>. That's about 10 times higher than a typical passenger jet's cruising altitude. It's the second flight to puncture the boundary that the US government considers to be the edge of space.</p><p>Virgin Galactic's first passenger wasn't a tourist who bought a $250,000 ticket, though - it was <a href="https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1098997318429241344" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beth Moses</a>, the company's chief astronaut instructor, who tested the crew cabin and experienced several minutes of weightlessness inside. She is the first person to fly as a passenger aboard a commercial spaceship.</p><p>"The crew enjoyed extraordinary views of Earth from the black skies of space and, during several minutes of weightlessness, Beth floated free to complete a number of cabin evaluation test points," Virgin Galactic said in <a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/articles/virgin-galactic-makes-space-for-second-time-in-ten-weeks-with-three-on-board/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a press release</a>. "The human validation of data previously collected via sensors, and the live testing of other physical elements of the cabin interior, are fundamental to the provision of a safe but enjoyable customer experience."</p><p>However, another billionaire interested in space tourism - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-rocket-company-most-important-2018-4">Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the aerospace company Blue Origin</a> - questioned the capabilities of Virgin Galactic earlier this week.</p><p>"One of the issues that Virgin Galactic will have to address, eventually, is that they are not flying above the Kármán line. Not yet. The vehicle isn't quite capable," Bezos said during an event at the Wings Club in New York on Tuesday.</p><p>Bezos explained that not going beyond this point would leave "asterisks" next to space flyers' names.</p><h2>What the Kármán line is and why Blue Orgin is targeting it</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/news/">Virgin Galactic</a></span></p><p class="caption">Inside the SpaceShipTwo or VSS Unity rocket ship as it flew near the edge of space on February 22, 2019. Beth Moses (center) was the company's first passenger.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>There is no official, globally recognized boundary for where Earth ends and space begins. In fact, just this month researchers said the outer fringes of Earth's atmosphere <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/earth-atmosphere-extends-beyond-moon-hydrogen-gas-cloud-2019-2">stretch more than 150,000 miles beyond the moon</a>.</p><p>Still, Earth's air pressure drops off dramatically at high altitudes, and wing-based lift begins to peter out if a vehicle gets dozens of miles high. NASA and the US Air Force consider the demarcation between pilots and astronauts to be at an altitude of 50 miles (80 kilometers).</p><p>But "for most of the world ... the edge of space is defined as 100 kilometers" or 62 miles high, Bezos said on Tuesday during a conversation moderated by Jeff Foust of <a href="https://spacenews.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Space News</a>.</p><p>That boundary is named after Theodore von Kármán. In his book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wind-Beyond-Theodore-Aviation-Pathfinder/dp/0316907537" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wind and Beyond</a>," Kármán says that above 57 miles (92 kilometers) in altitude, "there is no longer any air to contribute lift." The World Air Sports Federation has taken this line 5 miles (8 kilometers) higher to mark the spot where space begins.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/earth-moon-distance-edge-of-outer-space-2018-5">The space between Earth and the moon is mind-boggling. This graphic reveals just how big it is - and what's out there.</a></em></p><p>"I think that one of the things that [Virgin Galactic] will have to figure out, is how to get above the Kármán line. We fly to 106 kilometers" or 66 miles, Bezos said.</p><p>By "we" Bezos was referring to Blue Origin, which has developed an autonomous, fully <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-new-shepard-rocket-test-launch-success-2017-12">reusable rocket-and-space-capsule system called New Shepard</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/gallery">Blue Origin</a></span></p><p class="caption">Blue Origin's reusable New Shepard suborbital rocket launches toward space in 2016.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The squat rocket launches the capsule on a ballistic (up-and-down) trajectory, then returns to Earth and lands, allowing it to be refueled. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-new-shepard-spaceship-inside-images-2017-3">sleek crew capsule</a> continues flying upward, providing about 4 minutes of weightlessness for passengers.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-elon-musk-competition-companies-rockets-2018-3">SpaceX's list of competitors is growing - here are 9 futuristic rockets in the pipeline for the new space race</a></em></p><p>The reason New Shepard was designed to pierce the internationally recognized boundary of space, Bezos said, was to remove any doubts about status.</p><p>"We've always had as our mission that we wanted to fly above the Kármán line, because we didn't want there to be any asterisks next to your name about whether you're an astronaut," he said.</p><p>Bezos added that Blue Origin plans to launch its first people on New Shepard imminently.</p><p>"This is the first time I've ever been saying, 'this year,'" he said. "For a few years, I've been saying, 'next year.'"</p><h2>A series of firsts for suborbital space tourism</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/news/">Virgin Galactic</a></span></p><p class="caption">SpaceShipTwo, or VSS Unity, lifts off the ground attached to its mothership, WhiteKnightTwo. The small rocket ship launched toward the edge of space for a second time on February 22, 2019.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>A representative of Virgin Galactic did not issue a response to Bezos' comments in time for publication.</p><p>For its part, though, Branson's space tourism outfit is claiming to rack up firsts.</p><p>"Today's flight notched several additional firsts for the industry," Virgin Galactic said in its <a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/articles/virgin-galactic-makes-space-for-second-time-in-ten-weeks-with-three-on-board/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release</a>. "The flight was the first time that a non-pilot flew on board a commercial spaceship to space, and it was the first time that a crew member floated freely without restraints in weightlessness in space onboard a commercial spaceship; it was the first time that three people flew to space on a commercial spaceship, and Dave Mackay became the first Scottish-born astronaut."</p><p>The flight also marked the company's fifth back-to-back supersonic flight of a SpaceShipTwo vehicle, which is a welcome shift for the company. (In October 2014, one of its pilots died and another was seriously injured during an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-virgin-galactics-spacecraft-disintegrated-in-mid-air-2015-7">in-flight breakup of the "VSS Enterprise" SpaceShipTwo vehicle</a>.)</p><p>"Flying the same vehicle safely to space and back twice in a little over two months, while at the same time expanding the flight envelope, is testament to the unique capability we have built up," Branson said in the release.</p><p>He added: "Having Beth fly in the cabin today, starting to ensure that our customer journey is as flawless as the spaceship itself, brings a huge sense of anticipation and excitement to all of us here who are looking forward to experiencing space for ourselves. The next few months promise to be the most thrilling yet."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-blue-origin-virgin-galactic-space-tourism-2018-9">How SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic plan on taking you to space</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Virgin Galactic just rocketed its first passenger past the edge of space - but Jeff Bezos says its astronauts have 'asterisks' next to their names

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is a huge space geek. It's why he&#xa0;has a night job running Blue Origin, a spaceflight company he founded in 2000.<p>Bezos says it's expensive to run a space technology company. The infrastructure isn't in place and it could cost&#xa0;tons of money just to get your foot in the door.</p><p>He believes it's part of the reason why smart people are not even attempting to get in this&#xa0;field.</p><p>But Bezos has a simple solution to get more talented people to think about joining the modern space race: have the government offer a "very large prize."</p><p>"That kind of horse race could create lots of attention, people would compete for it, and who knows how it would<span>&#xa0; </span>end?<span>" Bezos said at t</span><span>he 2016 John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History held on Tuesday. "</span>It's a very effective way of getting a lot of interest and a lot of teams competing."</p><p>Bezos compared it to the DARPA Grand Challenge, the&#xa0;<span>prize competition for autonomous vehicles organized by the research arm of the Department of Defense, which spurred a flurry of research projects in the self-driving car space. Since NASA's already involved in the Mars sample return mission, aimed at bringing back rock and dust&#xa0;samples from Mars, Bezos believes it could be a good starting point.</span></p><p>"It would be very interesting...Also, if nobody brings the samples back, it costs tax payers nothing," he added.</p><p>You can watch the full conversation in the video below:</p><p><div></div></p><p class="tagline">Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through hispersonal investment company Bezos Expeditions.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-climbers-snapchat-2016-6">How to Snapchat from over 20,000 feet - as told by the Everest climbers that just did it</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="M0cnl5MzE68yoRV3CnKL49LJ42zOLfZN" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has a clever idea to get more people to work on space technology

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/gallery">Blue Orgin</a></span></p><p class="caption">Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Good morning! Here's the technology news you need to know this Friday.</p><p><strong>1. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/yahoo-hack-by-state-sponsored-actor-biggest-of-all-time-2016-9">Yahoo confirmed it suffered a major breach - and it could be the largest hack of all time.</a></strong> Yahoo said it believes that at least 500 million user account credentials were stolen.</p><p><strong>2. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/facebook-video-views-exaggerated-2016-9">Facebook exaggerated video views to advertisers.</a> </strong>It may have exaggerated a key metric - the average amount of time viewers spent watching each video - to advertisers by as much as 80%.</p><p><strong>3. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/airbnb-raised-555-million-2016-9">Google pumped a bunch of money into Airbnb.</a></strong> The company has raised $555 million (£424 million) at a $30 billion (£22 billion) valuation, part of a desired $850 million (£650 million) round.</p><p><strong>4. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/palmer-luckey-financing-pro-trump-group-2016-9">Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey is financing a pro-Trump meme group.</a> </strong>Luckey is financing "Nimble America," a Conservative group with a focus on viral, anti-Clinton memes.</p><p><strong>5. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/apple-buys-tuplejump-makers-of-filodb-2016-9">Apple bought another company to make Siri better.</a></strong> It has bought Tuplejump, a machine learning technology company with operations in both India and the United States.</p><p><strong>6. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/jawbone-cuts-ties-with-customer-service-agency-2016-9">Jawbone hasn't paid one of its key business partners and has almost no inventory left, sources say.</a></strong> The company abruptly ended its relationship with the customer service agency NexRep earlier this month after Jawbone failed to make payments.</p><p><strong>7.<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/amazon-closes-record-high-stock-price-2016-9"> Amazon closed at an all-time high as it more than doubled its stock price in just 17 months. </a></strong>That gives Amazon a market cap of over $380 billion (£290 billion).</p><p><strong>8.<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/linkedin-learning-for-online-skills-2016-9"> LinkedIn's first big move since the $26.2 billion (£20 billion) Microsoft acquisition is basically a "school" for getting a better job.</a></strong> LinkedIn Learning takes the online skills training classes the company got in its 2015 acquisition of Lynda.com for $1.5 billion.</p><p><strong>9. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/trump-attacks-plan-transfer-oversight-icann-from-us-wrong-censorship-2016-9">Donald Trump's warning about impending "online censorship" is dead wrong.</a></strong> His campaign has waded into a technical debate over the administration of the internet.</p><p><strong>10. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/tesla-solar-roof-coming-in-october-2016-9">Tesla will unveil its solar roof in October.</a></strong> The company will unveil a solar roof October 28 in the San Francisco area. It will be integrated with the new version of Tesla's at-home battery, the Powerwall 2.0, and Tesla's charger.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-turn-off-facebook-stalking-feature-2016-9">Facebook has a feature that stalks you all over the internet - here's how to turn it off</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Qwa20wNDE6fLf9uEtszPhZ1dI3v9p-lu" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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Elon Musk wishes Richard Branson well ahead of his space flight, implies he will be there to watch the Virgin Galactic launch

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Virgin Galactic just rocketed its first passenger past the edge of space - but Jeff Bezos says its astronauts have 'asterisks' next to their names

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