Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

60th anniversary of first American in space: Bezos, Musk, Branson are new liftoff leaders

60th anniversary of first American in space: Bezos, Musk, Branson are new liftoff leaders

Sixty years to the day that NASA astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard the Freedom 7 rocket, U.S. business leaders are continuing to help the country make major strides in space exploration.

The increased demand for commercial spaceflight and efforts by billionaires Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk has sparked innovation including NASA's daring Moon to Mars initiative.

Since Shepard's 15-minute, 116-mile May 5, 1961 flight – on the heels of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's flight – the U.S. has landed humans on the moon and sent more than 150 NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for important scientific research.

In addition, The Associated Press reported Wednesday that 579 people have entered space, with nearly two-thirds of the crew members American.

Spaceflight has dramatically changed over the past few decades, with the introduction of "space tourism."

In this Friday, May 4, 2001 file photo, reporters and officials at the Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia, outside Moscow, watch U.S. space tourist, Californian businessman Dennis Tito speaking from inside the International Space Station. Russ


SpaceX founder Musk said after the successful launch of the company's Crew-2 mission last month that he believes the world is at the dawn of a new space exploration era and looks forward to attempting to make humanity a "spacefaring civilization and a multiplanet species one day."

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and eight dearMoon contest winners are slated to launch onboard the SpaceX Starship for the trip of a lifetime in 2023.

NASA recently awarded Musk and the Starship – which is set for another test flight in Boca Chica, Texas on Wednesday afternoon – with the highly coveted $2.89 billion contract for the agency's ambitious Human Landing System (HLS) program that will land Artemis program astronauts on the moon in 2024.

FILE - This Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017 photo provided by Blue Origin shows the New Shepard Crew Capsule 2.0 after landing in west Texas during a test. Named after the first American in space, Alan Shepard, the spacecraft made a 10-minute suborbital fligh

Musk is not the only one with skin in the game.

Bezos' Blue Origin – which filed a protest regarding NASA's decision on the HLS contract -- said Wednesday it would auction off a seat for the company's first crew spaceflight aboard the rocket New Shepard.

That flight is targeted for the anniversary of the July 20 Apollo 11 moon landing.

Virgin Galactic's Branson also aims to begin tourist spaceflights in 2022.

Support teams work around the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, and Victor Glover, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi aboard in the

Although price tags vary, trips to space aren't cheap.

The first space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, paid $20 million to visit the space station in May 2001.

On Sunday, NASA's human spaceflight chief, Kathy Lueders, told reporters that goal is "one day that everyone’s a space person."

SpaceX's Crew-1 mission astronauts had successfully splashed down in waters off the Florida coast – successfully completing the company's first full-fledged crewed mission to the ISS.

"We’re very excited to see it starting to take off," she added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×