Billionaire Amazon.com big cheese Jeff Bezos is currently plunging funds into a space tourism startup called Blue Origin - the Earth, geddit - which has just come out of stealth mode and made its first test flight, to the dizzying height of 85m (roughly half the height of the BT Tower and about 99.9km short of space). But Bezos isn’t worried about the modesty of this initial baby step. As well as video of the flight, Blue Origin (don’t call it B.O.) has unveiled its coat of arms. Apparently it’s old logo - a stylised blue swoosh of the kind normally found on a pair of trainers - was not nearly grand enough.

The new logo includes a stylised Earth, Sun and planets, the motto Gradatim Ferociter, which apparently means “step-by-step, boldly”, plus a winged hour-glass, two tortoises reaching for the stars, and a shield emblazoned with what looks like a schematic showing the boundaries of the atmosphere.

In short, the coat of arms is just the thing for a 21st Century effort that will probably take longer than the Dark Ages to turn a profit.

09 Jan 2007