The New Shepard rocket system successfully launched from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 8:58 PM on March 31 (Hanoi time).
The New Shepard rocket system carried six passengers to an altitude of approximately 100 km, reaching the suborbital space. Just about 10 minutes later, the crew returned to Earth. The crew capsule landed in the Texas desert with the assistance of parachutes.
The mission, named NS-20, marks the 20th flight of the New Shepard rocket. However, this is Blue Origin’s fourth crewed flight and the first without any celebrity passengers.
This is Blue Origin’s fourth crewed flight.
The first crewed flight of New Shepard took place on July 20, 2021, carrying Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos, pilot Wally Funk, and two others to the edge of space. The second crewed flight occurred in October 2021, featuring actor William Shatner. Meanwhile, television host Michael Strahan was part of the third crewed flight, which launched last December.
Initially, comedian Pete Davidson was also scheduled to join NS-20. However, Davidson withdrew after the flight was postponed from March 23 to March 29. The launch was further delayed to March 31 due to forecasts of high winds at Launch Site One.
Replacing Davidson was Gary Lai, the chief architect of the New Shepard system and a long-time employee of Blue Origin. In addition to Lai, the other five passengers on the NS-20 mission included entrepreneur Marty Allen; Sharon Hagle, founder of the nonprofit educational organization SpaceKids Global; Marc Hagle, president and CEO of Tricor International real estate company; entrepreneur Jim Kitchen; and George Nield, president of Commercial Space Technologies.
Kitchen appears to have set a record with yesterday’s flight. He is the first person to visit space and all 193 countries recognized by the United Nations. “It’s an eternal blackness. Truly spectacular,” Kitchen shared about what he observed in space.
Blue Origin did not disclose the ticket prices for the passengers on the NS-20 flight. However, it is possible that Lai flew for free, similar to Davidson. Blue Origin seems not to charge celebrity passengers.
