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The New Shepard capsule flies above the Kármán line, while Virgin Galactic’s craft reached an altitude of around 53 miles during Branson's flight, which fueled a budding rivalry between the companies.The Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Force recognize the boundary of space at 50 miles, which means Bezos, Branson and their fellow passengers will all be eligible to get their commercial astronaut wings.Bezos' flight is a critical milestone for Blue Origin and the commercial spaceflight industry, which until now has been dominated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. "It'll be important for these companies to show that they can do lots of flights with no significant problems and no major accidents."In addition to suborbital trips offered by Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, SpaceX is planning orbital tourism flights beginning later this year with the first mission to space with an all-civilian crew.While the cost of suborbital and orbital trips will be out of reach for most people, Bezos has spoken about the importance of opening up access to space, particularly for young scientists and explorers."This is about building a road to space so that future generations can do incredible things in space," Bezos said Monday on the "TODAY" show.Bezos, Branson and Musk have all faced backlash for what some consider to be ego-driven or frivolous ventures.
As said here by MSNBC