Jeff Bezos Blue Origin Launch Sparks Wave of Memes, Jokes: 'Same day Delivery'

Social media users have shared a number of jokes and memes as billionaire Jeff Bezos is set to launch himself into space on board his Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket ship.

The Amazon CEO, who is the world's richest man, is set to embark on a suborbital flight with a crew which includes his brother Mark Bezos, 18-year-old student Oliver Daemen, and 82-year-old Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was set to join an all-woman space mission dubbed "Mercury 13" in 1961 before the program was scrapped.

The four passengers are due to take off at 09:00 a.m. (EDT) from the Blue Origin's Launch Site One launch site near Van Horn, Texas.

If successful, the New Shepard's 11-minute journey will contain the oldest, youngest and richest people to ever reach space.

"I'm excited," Bezos told CBS's This Morning on Monday. "People keep asking me if I'm nervous. I'm not really nervous. I'm excited. I'm curious. I want to know what we're going to learn."

"We've been training. This vehicle's ready. This crew is ready. This team is amazing. We just feel really good about it."

Ahead of the launch, a number of people shared jokes about the Amazon mogul's space adventure.

Icon Bette Midler tweeted: "Jeff Bezos is going to the edge of space Tuesday. Will the rocket bring him back home, or will it drop him at the wrong house and then say their records show he's been delivered?"

Entrepreneur Karma Bhutia added: "Send Jeff Bezos via Prime same day delivery," in response to a tweet from Amazon's official account wishing Bezos and the rest of the team good luck ahead of their historic flight.

James Mitchinson, editor of the English newspaper The Yorkshire Post, tweeted: "If nobody goes with Bez Lightyear for Jeff Bezos in the headlines later I'll be disappointed."

Others also mocked Bezos for the choice of footwear he wore after Blue Origin tweeted pictures of the four New Shepard passengers in their blue spacesuits, as well as his use of a box to stand on.

"They put Jeff in the 'city boy running for office as a republican' boots," tweeted comedian Caleb Hearon.

Graham Starr, an editor of Business Insider, wrote: "Jeff Bezos is 5'7" and he's standing on a box while everyone else sits, kneels, or backgrounds so he appears taller."

Melanie D'Arrigo, a Democrat running for Congress in New York's 3rd District, also suggested: "As soon as Jeff Bezos takes off tomorrow for space, Congress should pass a billionaires earth re-entry tax."

Bezos's journey will take place nine days after space tourism rival Richard Branson completed his suborbital flight on his Virgin Galactic rocket ship.

The New Shepard is hoping to fly to an altitude of roughly 66 miles (106 kilometers), more than 10 miles higher than Branson's July 11 ride.

Correction, 07/20/2021 9:36 a.m. ET: This article has been amended to correct how high Jeff Bezos' space rocket is aiming to fly.