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“If you look at the Branson spacecraft, it does create a transportation system very much like a commercial airline. You are going to take off at the airport and land at the airport, ”says Lugo.

According to Lugo, Bezos is what most aerospace engineers would call a more traditional approach to manned spacecraft. The entire launch of Blue Origin and its return to the atmosphere took about 10 minutes. The crew launched from a capsule attached to the nose of the rocket, which detached and returned to Earth as the crew capsule resumed its flight into space, reaching a maximum altitude of 351,210 feet before dropping to Earth and then deploying parachutes to land.

Experts say that regardless of their differences, both flights represent important milestones in the future of space travel.

“These cars are changing the way the pioneers of the first airplane did,” says Elaine Petro, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell.

Petro says that in addition to bringing people closer to orbit, both Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin may offer new approaches to faster intercontinental travel, as both vehicles can reach speeds four to five times faster than a conventional aircraft.

Petro is encouraged by the pace of progress in the industry. “Ten years ago, the Obama administration pushed for the expansion of the commercial launch vehicle industry. Crews from two public space transport platforms served the crews last week, and SpaceX was contracted to bring astronauts to the moon, ”she says.

What’s next for Blue Origin? While commercial space tourism is just getting started, Bezos hopes that launching more flights could lower costs and give everyone a chance to experience the beauty of life above Earth in the next few decades.