Jeff Bezos Takes Tumble After Blue Origin New Shepard Capsule Returns from Space

On Monday, Blue Origin founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos was seen taking a tumble in Texas while walking around the New Shepard space capsule after it successfully returned his fiancée Lauren Sanchez, pop star Katy Perry, and others to Earth. The Blue Origin rocket had launched earlier that day, carrying Sanchez, Perry, television host Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen.

The Launch

The New Shepard rocket took off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in Texas and successfully reached the Karman Line, which is located 62 miles above Earth and marks the edge of space. The flight lasted approximately 10 minutes and featured a brief period of weightlessness for the six astronauts onboard.

Previous Flights

Before this launch, Blue Origin had conducted 10 human flights with New Shepard since 2021, with the most recent flight taking place in late February. In total, the New Shepard program has completed 30 flights, showcasing its extensive experience in suborbital space travel.

New Glenn Rocket

In addition to New Shepard, Blue Origin has been developing a two-stage New Glenn rocket, which achieved its first launch in mid-January. Blue Origin has emphasized the importance of the New Glenn rocket in establishing a sustained human presence on the Moon, harnessing in-space resources, providing multi-mission, multi-orbit mobility through Blue Ring, and establishing destinations in low Earth orbit.

National Security Space Launch

Blue Origin and its New Glenn rocket secured a nearly $2.4 billion National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 2 contract in April for seven missions, adding to two previous national security launch-related contracts. This significant contract further underscores Blue Origin’s growing role in the space industry and its commitment to national security initiatives.

Bezos' Tumble

During the post-flight activities, Jeff Bezos was spotted interacting with the New Shepard capsule. While examining the capsule, he accidentally stepped into a ditch and fell into the dirt. However, he quickly recovered and proceeded to greet Lauren Sanchez with a warm hug and a kiss.