How did this start?
Jeff Bezos announced the first manned sub-orbital flight on Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle. He tried to out-Branson Branson. As soon as Bezos had announced his maiden flight, Branson jumped out of the box and announced that he was going to be the first.
Jeff wasn't having it and launched a petty Tweet about what is "space":
Only 4% of the world recognizes a lower limit of 80 km or 50 miles as the beginning of space. New Shepard flies above both boundaries. One of the many benefits of flying with Blue Origin. pic.twitter.com/4EAzMfCmYT
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 9, 2021
Keep in mind, none of these guys are truly astronauts. No matter if they surpass an altitude of 80 km or 100 km. They are space tourists at best. Both rides offer 4 minutes of zero g experience. The trip on New Shepard lasts about 10 minutes, and about 90 minutes on Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity.
The reason why Space Twitter took issue with these Tweets is not because of a nerdy debate about what constitutes space, but the pathetic comparison Blue Origin tried to draw between the two rides:
Source:
https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1413521627116032001
- blueorigin
And here is the proof that the internet always wins:
Source:
https://twitter.com/daily_hopper/status/1413569511362605060
- daily_hopper
Source:
https://twitter.com/surajjeetsahu/status/1413748415947624455
- surajjeetsahu
ARCAspace wants to develop an actual Steem-Punk rocket. A rocket powered by steam.
Source:
https://twitter.com/StormSilvawalk1/status/1413572239023300613
- StormSilvawalk1
Source:
https://twitter.com/ChappmanDamien/status/1413799525697953793
- ChappmanDamien
Source:
https://twitter.com/TheKSPManiac/status/1413654215977840640
- TheKSPManiac
The Sea Dragon was an actual concept that eventually wasn't followed. It appears in the Apple TV+ series "For All Mankind". A series about an alternate timeline, where the space race still goes on.
Source:
https://twitter.com/c_fletcher22/status/1413535109165338624
- c_fletcher22
Source:
https://twitter.com/joebarnard/status/1413600559458922502
- joebarnard
Source:
https://twitter.com/jvo28/status/1413621762638721025
- jvo28
Source:
https://twitter.com/AvgSpaceNerd/status/1413765590737510408
- AvgSpaceNerd
Here is Tim Dodd, comparing the two luxury experiences:
Blue Origin VS Virgin Galactic // How do they compare?
