Jeff Bezos wins Heinlein Prize for space travel

The entrepreneur took home the award for Blue Origin’s work on reusability in space exploration.

Jeff Bezos is taking home a prestigious industry award Tuesday, but not for Amazon.com.

The entrepreneur has been awarded the Heinlein Prize for his work at Blue Origin on reusability in space exploration. Bezos is known for his enthusiasm for all things space, especially via the work at his Kent-based company.

Blue Origin launched its New Shepard rocket, designed to eventually carry passengers into space, for the fourth time Sunday, safely lowering it to the ground with one fewer parachute than usual to prove it can operate with a small failure.

The Heinlein Prize Trust announced Bezos’ award at the NewSpace conference in Seattle. The prize is named for Robert A. Heinlein, a science-fiction writer known for “Stranger in a Strange Land” and short stories and series from the 20th century.

The trust said Bezos was chosen for his work with reusable commercial spacecraft that will one day bring customers into space.

“Heinlein foresaw a thriving future with humans throughout the solar system. We won’t stop working to make that vision come true,” Bezos said in a statement.

He follows SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Peter Diamandis as recipients of the prize.

Read the whole article at the Seattle Times