Bezos called it the “best day ever” after touching down in the desert in West Texas after the successful 10-minute flight. The New Shepard soared past the Kármán Line, which is commonly known as the altitude at which outer space begins, to a height of 66.52 miles.
Last week, Bezos donated $200 million to renovate the National Air and Space Museum. The donation is the biggest gift in the Smithsonian’s history.
Bezos said during the press conference Tuesday his expectations for the space trip were “high and they were dramatically exceeded.”
Bezos was joined on stage by his fellow astronauts. Funk, the oldest person to ever fly to space, was the youngest graduate of the Woman in Space program in 1961. The women underwent the same tests as NASA’s Mercury 7 male astronauts but were never given the opportunity to go into space.
Funk said she’s been “waiting a long time” to finally get up into space.
“I loved it, and I love being here with all of you and your family and the four of us—we had a great time,” she said. “It was wonderful. I want to go again, fast.”
