Bezos' space rocket plans may get a lift from Texas lawmakers

We haven't heard much lately about Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' top-secret project to develop a rocket to take paying customers into space. But Texas lawmakers are considering legislation that could aid the Amazon.com founder's ambitions. A bill introduced in the Texas Legislature would limit the liability of "space flight entities." That would be useful for Blue Origin, which has a launch complex in West Texas.

The Texas Senate bill is meant to "promote the development of a commercial space launch industry in Texas, by clarifying that people riding on a space vehicle launched in Texas can assume the risk of injury if they are made aware of the risks and sign a written waiver of liability beforehand," according to Senate bill analysis. The bill has companion legislation in the House.

Blue Origin is developing "a vertical take-off, vertical-landing vehicle designed to take a small number of astronauts on a sub-orbital journey into space," according to its website. The company's main operations are in Kent, Wash. Bezos is one of several tech entrepreneurs who have been drawn to space travel.

Blue Origin doesn't give a timeline for commercial space flights. Does this Texas legislative activity mean Bezos' project is getting closer to lift-off?

About Eric Engleman

ERIC ENGLEMAN is senior technology staff writer for TechFlash and the Puget Sound Business Journal, covering online retail giant Amazon.com. Engleman tracks Amazon's increasingly complex business, spanning ecommerce, Kindle, cloud computing, and more. He's been covering technology and other industries for the Business Journal since 2003.

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