5 things to know today, including private spaceflight companies preparing for takeoff

Good morning, Houston! I hope you had a good weekend and are ready to get things started this week. Here are some big headlines from this morning and recent days.

Private companies ready for takeoff

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will take a seat on his spaceflight company’s first human flight next month, Blue Origin announced this morning. Bezos, his brother Mark and the winner of an ongoing auction will fly to space aboard the New Shepard on July 20. The announcement comes the same day that a new…