Bezos Unveils Private Spacecraft (Sans Bathroom)

Passengers on aspiring space tourism honcho Jeff Bezos' suborbital vehicle better use a bathroom beforehand – and carry their own barf bag – because there is no system to deal with human waste, Space.com reported.

The surprising new details of the New Shepard – produced by Bezos' private spaceflight company Blue Origin – were revealed at the 33rd annual Space Symposium, Space.com reported. The company is hoping to launch its first flight next year.

The six ticket-holders for the first 11-minute adventure will travel 62 miles above the surface of the Earth – an altitude at which they will be weightless and see the curve of the planet and darkness of space, Space.com reported.

Each passenger will be in a seat reclining to nearly face the ceiling, and positioned to have a view out one of the capsule's windows. Once in space, they will be able to unbuckle and float for about four minutes.

"Go to the bathroom in advance," Bezos told the symposium audience, Space.com reported. "The whole thing, from boarding until you're back on the ground, is probably 40 or 41 minutes, so you're going to be fine. You could dehydrate ever so slightly if you have a weak bladder."

Though many people get sick during weightlessness, Bezos said vomiting does not usually occur until about three hours into a flight.

"[People] don't throw up right away," he said. "We're not going to worry about it. . . . It's a delayed effect, and this journey takes 10 or 11 minutes, so you're going to be fine."

Bezos said the company will not begin selling tickets – or price them – until it has completed a series of human test flights with Blue Origin astronauts.

"You know, I've thrown parties that nobody came to," Bezos said. "And I don't think that's going to be the case here. I'm super optimistic. But the customers get to decide what the flight rates are. I hope they decide they want to fly."

A comparable space tourism flight run by private spaceflight company Virgin Galactic has been selling tickets to suborbital space for between $200,000 and $250,000 apiece, Space.com reported.

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