Billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned space company Blue Origin aims to carry the first passengers on its New Shepard space vehicle as early as April, CNBC reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Blue Origin completed the fourteenth test flight of its New Shepard rocket booster and capsule on Thursday, marking one of the last remaining steps before the company flies its first crew to space, the report said. (https://cnb.cx/3sswOEc)
Responding to a Reuters request for comment on the report, a company spokesperson said "this is rumor and speculative - not confirmed."
The CNBC report said Blue Origin aims to launch the second test flight within six weeks, or by late February, and the first crewed flight six weeks after that, or by early April.
(Reporting by Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
