Bezos Joins Branson In Billionaires' Space Club

Is Now Wealthiest ‘Astronaut’ With 10-Min Suborbital Trip

- Chidanand Rajghatta

Washington: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, became the planet’s wealthiest “astronaut” on Tuesday, travelling to outer space in his own rocket to mark a new era in private space travel. Coming nine days after Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson flew on a similar suborbital trajectory, Bezos took with him to outer space his own brother Mark, and the world’s oldest and youngest space-farers, on a 10 minute-journey that established new records.

Wally Funk, 82, who trained as a Nasa astronaut in the 1960s but didn’t make the launch cut, became the oldest person in space. Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old physics student from the Netherlands whose father paid for his flight, became the youngest. Daemen got on the ride because an unnamed billionaire — who paid $28 million for it — dropped out.