Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its 13th crewed mission to the edge of space on June 29. Just one day after Bezos tied the knot with Lauren Sánchez in Venice, Italy, the reusable New Shepard rocket lifted off from a launch pad in West Texas, carrying six civilian astronauts—including a married couple—beyond the Kármán line, the boundary that officially marks the start of space.
The trip-dubbed NS-33-was the 33rd mission for New Shepard and its 13th with human passengers. The entire journey lasted just over 10 minutes, with the rocket reaching an altitude of roughly 62 miles (100 km) above Earth before descending safely back to the desert floor. According to ABC News, the mission had originally been scheduled for June 21 but faced two weather-related delays.
Blue Origin says it has now flown over 60 civilians and 175 scientific payloads into suborbital space, as reported by CNN. This rapid succession of successful flights is helping to normalize space travel, inching ever closer to making it a commercial reality for non-astronauts.
What once seemed like a science fiction fantasy is fast becoming a reality, as billionaire-led companies like Blue Origin transform space into the next frontier of tourism. With orbital hotels, luxury zero-gravity cruises, and moon day trips on the horizon, click through this gallery to see what the future of travel holds.