A PR war in between 2 billionaire-owned area companies, Jeff Bezos Blue Origin and Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic, is beginning to get spicy.
Ever considering that Virgin announced it d attempt to fly its founder Branson to space nine days prior to Bezos flies on his own rocket, Blue Origin has actually been on a warpath to discredit Virgins suborbital spaceplane, publicly attacking whatever from the lorrys peak altitude to the size of its windows. Blue Origins CEO Bob Smith wanted Branson well after Virgins announcement, but alleged hes not really going to space– “theyre not flying above the Kármán line and its an extremely different experience.”
The Kármán line, 62 miles above ground, is the limit of area acknowledged by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), a Swiss organization that sets global rules for air sports. Blue Origins New Shepard rocket launches its team pill just beyond the Kármán line for a couple of minutes of weightlessness, while Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo spaceplane flies 55 miles high– simply over the limit of space defined by the US government. Both companies say they fly to space, simply by different standards.

From the beginning, New Shepard was created to fly above the Kármán line so none of our astronauts have an asterisk beside their name. For 96% of the worlds population, space starts 100 km up at the internationally acknowledged Kármán line. pic.twitter.com/QRoufBIrUJ— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 9, 2021

Blue Origin tweeted a colorful chart on Friday, two days prior to Bransons flight, comparing Virgin Galactics spaceplane to Blue Origins New Shepard on window size, vehicle type, escape system, and other factors. “From the beginning, New Shepard was created to fly above the Kármán line so none of our astronauts have an asterisk beside their name,” the company said in its tweet, indicating Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo guests cant call themselves astronauts. The business continued, suggesting the Kármán line is a legally binding global requirement: “For 96% of the worlds population, space begins 100 km up at the worldwide acknowledged Kármán line.”
“The US Air Force is the only government agency that has consistently recognized a lower elevation as the border of space (80 km/ 50 miles),” the spokesperson included. In truth, both NASA and the FAA, a United States government firm that accredits Blue Origin launches, likewise utilize the very same 50-mile standard for acknowledging the boundary of area.
” This pissing contest about the Karman line is so childish”
Virgin Galactic didnt instantly react to an ask for discuss Blue Origins tweet. But Nicola Pecile, a Virgin Galactic test pilot, hit back, saying in a now-deleted tweet, “this pissing contest about the Karman line is so childish that is getting truly awkward to enjoy. Flying above 100K feet is already so complex that anyone doing so need to be worthy of a special acknowledgment.” In another tweet, he pointed out Virgin Galactics first spaceflight with people in 2018 and included that Blue Origin “has flown only mannequins up until now.”

The “pissing contest” on Twitter was just the current battle in a month filled with snark and sass between the two billionaire-funded area tourism companies as each get ready to fly their particular billionaire founders to space. Virgin Galactics decision to fly Branson on July 11th was extensively seen as a PR relocation to beat Bezos launch to space on July 20th. Branson was initially poised to fly on a later flight, likely a couple of months from now. When Branson was asked on CNBC last week whether hes attempting to beat Bezos to area, he replied: “Jeff who?” (It was the very same initial action SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offered when asked a similar concern in a 2016 BBC interview.).
Blue Origins tweet on Friday reignited online discussion about where the boundary of space should be set. Analyses differ considerably in between fields of research study– a meteorologist might argue space begins much lower than where a planetary researcher would set the bar. But for human spaceflight, the US has long maintained that 50 miles is the proper altitude for space to begin, and the point where an individual can earn their “astronaut wings.”.
” To state that its worldwide concurred is a little a stretch”.
Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer and expert tracker of space items, argues in a 2018 academic paper that space starts at 50 miles above ground, based on physics and approximately the minimum elevation for orbital things. In a call with The Verge, McDowell pushed back on Blue Origins claim that a vast bulk of the worlds population thinks space starts at the FAIs 62-mile marker which its an “globally acknowledged” standard. While the majority of space-faring countries may concur with the FAIs requirement, it doesnt represent a big chunk of the worlds population, he says.
” A great deal of nations do not have an opinion, a great deal of countries have not chosen to rule on it. And international legal bodies, which the FAI is not, have actually not ruled on it. So to say that its globally agreed is a little bit of a stretch.”.

Blue Origins New Shepard rocket releases its crew pill simply beyond the Kármán line for a few minutes of weightlessness, while Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo spaceplane flies 55 miles high– simply over the limit of area specified by the US federal government. In reality, both NASA and the FAA, a United States government firm that accredits Blue Origin launches, also use the same 50-mile standard for recognizing the border of area. The “pissing contest” on Twitter was just the newest fight in a month full of snark and sass in between the 2 billionaire-funded area tourism companies as each equipments up to fly their particular billionaire founders to area. Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer and expert tracker of area objects, argues in a 2018 scholastic paper that space starts at 50 miles above ground, based on physics and roughly the minimum elevation for orbital objects. In a phone call with The Verge, McDowell pushed back on Blue Origins claim that a vast bulk of the worlds population believes space starts at the FAIs 62-mile marker and that its an “globally acknowledged” requirement.