Club for the Future, a foundation of the US aerospace company Blue Origin owned by Jeff Bezos has selected 19 space-related groups which will receive a $1 million grant, the company said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2021) Club for the Future, a foundation of the US aerospace company Blue Origin owned by Jeff Bezos has selected 19 space-related groups which will receive a $1 million grant, the company said on Wednesday.
"Today, Blue Origin's foundation, Club for the Future, announced 19 non-profit charitable organizations will each be offered a $1 million grant to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM [Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] and help invent the future of life in space. The funds are made possible by the recent auction for the first paid seat on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket," the company said.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, AstraFemina, a group of astronauts and academic professionals, are among the charities which were chosen.
Blue Origin's New Shepard will take Bezos, his brother Mark, and Wally Funk, an 82-year old female pilot, to space July 20. The system features a single booster topped with a crew capsule designed to carry paying space tourists to the edge of outer space, about 60 miles above Earth's surface. After separating, the capsule will float for a few minutes in microgravity before returning to Earth with parachutes while the reusable booster rocket lands on its own.
Meanwhile, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith noted that the recent auction for the seat on New Shepard resulted in a donation of $28 million to the foundation.
"This donation is enabling Club for the Future to rapidly expand its reach by partnering with 19 organizations to develop and inspire the next generation of space professionals. Our generation will build the road to space and these efforts will ensure the next generation is ready to go even further," he added.
