• by Ray Schultz , July 19, 2021

The Washington Post is teaming up with Discovery to present live coverage of its owner Jeff Bezos’ flight into space on Tuesday. 

The program, “Space Launch LIVE: Blue Origin & Jeff Bezos Go To Space,’ will air on WashingtonPost.com and on the Discovery and Science Channels, starting at 8 a.m. ET. It will be repeated in prime time. The flight starts at 9 a.m. 

The goal is to “bring this historic launch to the eyes of Americans nationwide as the appetite for space tourism intensifies,” states Micah Gelman, director of editorial video at The Washington Post.

“With no on-site public viewing areas in the vicinity of the launch site, this broadcast continues Discovery and Science Channel's mission to bring the world to our viewers," adds Scott Lewers, executive vice president of multiplatform programming, factual & head of content for Science. 

The coverage is being co-produced by WaPo, Discovery and Storied Media Group.

Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, the space flight company conducting the flight, will be accompanied on board by Mark Bezos, the founder’s brother; female aviator and aerospace pioneer Wally Funk; and Dutch teenager Oliver Daemen.

The flight has attracted some degree of ridicule, with 150,000 people signing a petition to not allow to Bezos to return to earth. But there will doubtless be a viewership for the event. 

The New Shepard rocket lifts off from the desert near Van Horn, Texas, for its brief sub-orbital flight. During it, travelers will experience roughly four minutes of weightlessness. 

Bezos acquired The Washington Post in 2013. Earlier this month, he stepped down as CEO of Amazon 27 years after founding it.  

The programming will be anchored by The Washington Post’s Libby Casey and Discovery’s Chris Jacobs and will be provided from the paper's Washington, D.C. studios.

Other commentators include WaPo space reporter Christian Davenport, astronaut Leland Melvin and Dr. Ellen Stofan, the Smithsonian’s Undersecretary for Science and Research.