Billionaires in Space: 2021 Rich Space Tourism Quiz

Jeff Bezos was on the first manned Blue Origin flight with his brother, 18-year-old Oliver Daemen from the Netherlands, and 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk, from the Dallas area — the youngest and oldest to ever fly in space.

Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen Bonus Facts:

Wally Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but never made it into space.

Oliver Daemen is Blue Origin’s first paying customer. The 18-years-old was an underbidder; an unknown person who initially won the auction for the first Blue Origin space flight with a $28 million bid had to postpone their fight due to “scheduling difficulties.”

On Sunday, July 11, 2021, billionaire Richard Branson became the first person to blast off in his own spaceship, V.S.S. Unity, beating Jeff Bezos, the richest person on the planet, by nine days.

Billionaires in Space Fun Fact:

Bezos. Screenshot: Blue Origin on YouTube

The London-born founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways assigned himself to the flight after Bezos announced plans to ride his own rocket into space from Texas on July 20.  Bezos sent his congratulations, adding: “Can’t wait to join the club!”

The Virgin Galactic July 2021 space-tourism flight was a 15 minutes ride up and down — enough to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness.

Jeff Bezos named Blue Origin’s New Shepard after Alan Shepard, America’s first astronaut.

How long was New Shepard in space?

The New Shepard flight lasted 10 minutes and 10 seconds — five minutes shy of Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 flight in 1961. Shepard’s daughters, Laura and Julie, were introduced at a press event a few hours later.

With tickets initially costing $250,000 apiece, Virgin Galactic already has more than 600 reservations from would-be space tourists.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wanted to say thanks to the people who made his trip into space Tuesday, July 20, 2021, possible. “I want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all this,” the 57-year-old Bezos said during a news conference after becoming the second billionaire in just over a week to ride in his spacecraft.

How does Jeff Bezos finance Blue Origin?

Bezos said in April 2017 that he finances the rocket company by selling $1 billion in Amazon stock each year.

Virgin Galactic’s first licensed space tourism flight took off from Spaceport America, near the city of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, where spectators were invited to watch the historic liftoff on Sunday, July 11, 2021.

Truth or Consequences Fun Fact:

The city is named after a US radio game show that aired on and off from 1940 to 1988.

In 1998 Astronaut John Glenn flew on a space shuttle at age 77 - becoming the first person over 70 to go into space. In July 2021, the nearly 71-year-old Richard Branson became the second septuagenarian in history to go into space.

What is a septuagenarian?

A septuagenarian is a person in their seventies.

Virgin Galactic told the Wall Street Journal Elon Musk had bought a ticket for his own space ride with Richard Branson's space-tourism company. It is unclear how far up the waiting list Musk is for a seat. In a preflight interview by London's Sunday Times, Branson said: "Elon's a friend, and maybe I'll travel on one of his ships one day." Sunday morning, July 11, 2021, Branson tweeted a photo of himself and Musk: "Great to start the morning with a friend."

William Shatner was born on Mar. 22, 1931, which makes him 90 years old in 2021.

Is William Shatner the oldest person in space?

Photo: Blue Origin

William Shatner became the oldest person to travel to space as he joined the four-person crew aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle on Oct. 13, 2021. The "Star Trek" actor is flying as a guest of Blue Origin. The company says it has also sold nearly $100 million in tickets to paying customers. Pioneering woman aviator Wally Funk, 82, was the oldest person to reach space when she joined Bezos on the July 2021 flight.