How is Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin flight path differentiated from the typical trajectory followed by NASA astronauts?
Answer
His journey was suborbital, shooting up and falling back down.
The primary difference between Bezos’s flight and typical NASA missions lies in the orbital mechanics. NASA astronauts are generally engaged in orbital missions, meaning their spacecraft achieves sufficient velocity to enter and maintain a stable path circling the Earth, often for days or weeks. Conversely, Bezos's Blue Origin flight was suborbital; the New Shepard rocket traveled upward, crossed the space boundary, experienced weightlessness briefly at its peak altitude (apogee), and then immediately began its descent back to Earth. This short, up-and-down trajectory defines the suborbital nature of the commercial tourist experience.
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