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When Amazon’s Jeff Bezos launches into space, those at Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest will be watching with pride.
Believe it or not, Bezos isn’t the first Palmetto Alum to make it into space, as Dominic Gorie worked for NASA and went to the International Space Station on other missions.
Graduating in the early 1980s, Bezos was top of his class as the Valedictorian, as well as President of the school’s Science Honor Society.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has been cleared for its first crewed space mission.
The FAA issued the license to launch Bezos and three others into space. The New Shepard rocket will take flight and will be the first mission with crew members and passengers.
The rocket is scheduled to lift off on July 20th at 9 a.m. ET from Van Horn, Texas. July 20th is the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Bezos will be joined by his younger brother Mark, 82-year-old female aviation pioneer Wally Funk, and the undisclosed winner of a $28 million auction.
The six-story rocket will carry the passengers slightly higher than billionaire Richard Branson who beat Musk to space last week on Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity.
There will be no public viewing areas to watch the launch, and the Texas D.O.T. will be closing a portion of State Highway 54, but the launch will be streamed live on BlueOrigin.com.