Between an upsurge in antitrust talk and questions about worker turnover, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has plenty to worry about here on Earth. His plans to take a suborbital space ride next month on a rocket ship built by Blue Origin, another company he created, could conceivably add to the angst — and not just because of the regular risks of spaceflight.
Two petitions urging him to stay in space have attracted more than 100,000 signatures between them, and the tally continues to climb at a rate as rapid as a signature a second.
Both petitions were posted to Change.org two weeks ago, after Bezos said he and his brother Mark would board Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship on July 20 for an up-and-down flight from the company’s West Texas spaceport. Two yet-to-be-identified riders will join them, including the winner of a $28 million auction benefiting Blue Origin’s nonprofit foundation.
