Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and the richest person on the planet, completed his voyage to the edge of space aboard his company Blue Origin’s New Shepard in less than 11 minutes on Tuesday evening. 

The rocket lifted off from a base in the west Texas desert at approximately 6.42 pm IST. The New Shepard capsule reached an altitude of 66.5 miles (107 kilometers), allowing the passengers to experience weightlessness while admiring the curve of the Earth.

Also Read: Jeff Bezos space flight: How safe is Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket?

Once the passengers landed back, Blue Origin issued a statement congratulating them.

“Congratulations to all of Team Blue past and present on reaching this historic moment in spaceflight history. This first astronaut crew wrote themselves into the history books of space, opening the door through which many after will pass,” the company said in a statement. 

Also Read: The three big companies jostling for Space

Bezos was accompanied by his younger brother, Mark Bezos, an 82-year-old pilot named Wally Funk, and an 18-year old recent high school graduate, Oliver Daemen. 

Funk became the oldest person to travel to space. The 82-year-old American aviator was a member of the Mercury 13 project and also the first female aviation safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Daemon, on the other hand, became the youngest person to travel to space. He is the son of millionaire Joes Daemon, founder and CEO of Somerset Capital Partners — a Dutch investment company.      

Prior to the trip, Bezos had said he was not really nervous about it. 

“People keep asking if I am nervous. I am not really nervous, I am excited. I am curious. I want to know what we are going to learn. We have been training. This vehicle is ready. This crew is ready. This team is amazing. We just feel really good about it,”  Bezos told ‘CBS This Morning’ programme on Monday.