Today, Jeff Bezos is going to space — but almost 200 thousand people do not want him to return.
The Amazon founder will embark on the first manned flight of Blue Origin aboard the New Shepard today, July 20, along with his brother Mark, 82-year-old Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Damen. One of them will become the oldest person in space, and the other-the youngest.
Last month, amid the news about Bezos ‘ flight, a petition was filed asking to prevent his return to Earth. Over the past few weeks, it has gained momentum and is now close to collecting 200 thousand signatures.
«Billionaires should not exist either on Earth or in space, but if they have decided to go there, then let them stay there,» wrote Rick Gee, who initiated the petition on Change.org.
«Jeff Bezos has received the crown of the richest man in the world and is proud of it. Perhaps he is financially and emotionally detached not only from the majority of humanity, but also from most of what makes us human. «Gee continues —» And now he hopes to achieve complete separation by leaving the Earth’s atmosphere with the help of a personally funded spacecraft.»
«The recent competition in the space odyssey of billionaires is a slap in the face to working-class people who are trying to survive.»
Bezos will not be the first billionaire in space: he was beaten by Richard Branson in a successful test flight of Virgin Galactic. However, while Branson has reached an altitude of 53 miles above the Earth, Bezos intends to reach the so-called limit of space.
«There was one person who was the first to visit space, his name was Yuri Gagarin, and this happened a long time ago. This is not a competition, this is building a road to space so that future generations can do incredible things there, » Bezos said, according to Sky News.
