Space
tourism just got a boost as Blue Origin launched half a dozen passengers to
the edge of outer space for the first time in almost two years.
The launch of Blue
Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule took place on Sunday at 9:36 a.m. CT at
Blue Origin's private facility in West Texas, marking the end of a nearly
two-year pause prompted by the 2022 failure of an unmanned test flight. Designated
as NS-25, Sunday’s flight represented the Jeff Bezos-owned commercial space
travel company’s seventh crewed mission so far.
Inside the capsule
were six passengers who paid an astronomical ticket price for their seat aboard
a rocket to the stars. They were: venture capitalist Mason Angel, French craft
brewery founder Sylvain Chiron, software engineer and entrepreneur Kenneth L.
Hess, retired accountant Carol Schaller, aviator Gopi Thotakura and retired US
Air Force captain Ed Dwight, who became the oldest person to soar to such
heights at the age of 90.
Notably, Dwight
was selected by President John F. Kennedy back in 1961 to be the country’s
first Black astronaut candidate. Despite completing his official training and
receiving a recommendation from the Air Force, Dwight ultimately did not join
NASA's Astronaut Corps. He later pursued careers as an entrepreneur and
sculptor, and his groundbreaking personal account is featured in a new National
Geographic documentary film, called "The Space Race."
Amid the one-of-a-kind
flight, a rocket booster propelled the passenger capsule over the Kármán line—a
region 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth’s surface that’s often recognized
as the boundary of outer space. For a few minutes at the flight’s peak point, customers
and crew had the enviable of experience of weightlessness, along with seeing astonishing
views of Earth below. CNN
reported that rocket booster landed safely a few minutes before the capsule’s
touchdown at 9:46 a.m. CT.
The launch was
conducted after Blue Origin successfully completed an uncrewed science mission
in December 2023, which was New Shepard's first flight since a malfunction that
occurred the year prior. In September 2022, a New Shepard rocket and capsule carrying
scientific instruments failed one minute into flight, with the rocket appearing
to burst into flames.
At that point, the
capsule’s launch abort system was initiated and it jetted it safely away from
the booster, afterward landing via parachute as it was designed. The rocket,
however, plummeted to the ground and was smashed irreparably. Following an FAA
investigation and its assignment of “corrective actions” needed before the New
Shepard could fly again, the company made several design changes and
adjustments to prevent similar issues. Luckily, it was an unmanned mission and
no injuries were reported among the ground crew.
Prior to the 2022
incident, New Shepard had completed 22 consecutive successful missions,
including six with passengers. Among the notable passengers were Jeff Bezos,
“Star Trek” actor William Shatner, and “Good Morning America” host Michael
Strahan.
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