Sinead Butler
Dec 17, 2023
Fox - 35 Orlando / VideoElephant
Jeff Bezos has shared what it was like to experience zero gravity when he made it to the edge of space via space venture Blue Origin back in 2021.
The billionaire stepped down as Amazon's CEO in the same year to focus on his rocket company, Blue Origin, and he alongside his brother, Mark Bezos, aerospace pioneer Wally Funk and Dutch teenager Oliver Daeman flew aboard the the New Shepard rocket.
Now the 59-year-old has revealed on the Lex Fridman podcast how zero gravity felt and compared it to "a return to the womb," when describing the experience.
"I'll tell you something very interesting: zero gravity feels very natural. I don't know if it's because it's like a return to the womb," Bezos said, who said he was "not nervous," about the journey.
"It was an incredible experience and we were laughing inside the capsule, and were not nervous."
Blue Origin's New Shepard crew (L-R) Oliver Daemen, Jeff Bezos, Wally Funk, and Mark Bezos pose for a picture near the booster after flying into space in the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket on July 20, 2021 in Van Horn, Texas. Mr. Bezos and the crew were the first human spaceflight for the company. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
He added: "You see how fragile the Earth is. If you're not an environmentalist, it will make you one."
Bezos also touched on turning his time and attention to Blue Origin.
"Most of my time is spent on Blue Origin and I'm so deeply involved here now for the last couple of years," he said and has had other passengers including actor William Shatner and billionaire Hamish Harding - the latter of whom was later killed while on board the Titan submersible which imploded during its Titanic expedition.
And for the future of space, Bezos stated his vision and he believes humans will live on self-sustaining spaceships rather than living on a different planet.
He said: "The only way to get to that vision is with giant space stations. The planetary surfaces are just way too small unless you turn them into giant space stations."
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