POCOMOKE CITY, Md. - Kids at the Virginia Space Flight Academy got a rare opportunity to watch Jeff Bezos launch into space from the control room at Rocketlab on Wallops Island. Jasmine Leake, a former student at the camp is now a counselor. She says the kids were stunned when Bezos took off.
"Most of them were just kind of looking out in shock like wow its really happening, everyone was kind of a bit floored and it was amazing," Leake said
After watching the flight at Rocketlab, the campers went back to the YMCA at Pocomoke to build their own rockets. The camp's director, Dean Dedicatoria, said after watching the Blue Origin spacecraft, kids were eager to send their own rockets to the sky.
"It got them excited about the rocket program and they had a great opportunity to see something where instead of a government agency having to launch rockets, now were looking at the transition to commercial flights," Dedicatoria said.
Among the crew on board Bezos' rocket was his brother Mark along with Oliver Daemen, the youngest person ever to fly to space. Wally Funk was also on board. She is the oldest person to fly to space and had been trying to reach space for 60 years. The campers at the Virginia Space Flight Academy took note of the milestone.
"I just think its really inspiring, and again, it just feels really lucky, and its just nice to see and I thought it was really great," said Avni Patel a camper who is interested in the STEM field.
Blue Origin announced today ticket sales are open for space tourism. The company also said it is working on reusable space craft.
