Blue Origin, an aerospace company, was slated to conduct its fifth tourist flight this morning, sending a six-member crew to the edge of space, then back out of West Texas.
Again, a The Verge report specified it is a flight minus a known personality on board as the space company transitions into making these quick jaunts to space somewhat routine.
Called NS-21, the flight comes just two months after the last tourist trip of Blue Origin on March 31, 2022. That mission, called the NS-20, sent up five paying customers and a company employee; no popular names flew the first time.
The said employee of Blue Origin was a last-minute replacement for actor Pete Davidson who was originally scheduled to fly, but he needed to drop out because of scheduling issues when the mission got delayed.
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A Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launches from Launch Site One in West Texas north of Van Horn on March 31, 2022. - The NS-20 mission carries Blue Origins New Shepard Chief Architect Gary Lai, Marty Allen, Sharon Hagle, Marc Hagle, Jim Kitchen, and Dr. George Nield into space.
No Popular Names on the Flight
Before that mission, Blue Origin had at least one famous personality on board its flights, including GMA anchor Michael Strahan.
There are no popular names on this most recent flight, but a few notable flyers are joining this trip. For instance, engineer and investor Even Dick turned out to be the first repeat flyer, having already flown to space on the third crewed mission of the company.
Moreover, a related Digital Trends report said that STEM communicator and YouTuber Katya Echazarreta would become the first-ever Mexican-born woman to fly to space.
Space for Humanity, a nonprofit to expand access to space for all humans, is sponsoring her seat on the flight. It does so by funding tickets on Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic flights for those who might not be able to afford them.
Six-Member Crew
According to an Engadget via Yahoo! News report, others on the flight are Hemish Harding, a jet pilot and chairman of his business jet brokerage, and Jaison Robinson, an adventurer, investor, and former contestant on the Survivor: Samoa reality TV show.
Also joining the crew is Victor Vascovo, a co-founder of his own private equity company who has dived into the ocean's deepest point up to 12 times and submitted the highest point of each continent.
The six members of the crew are set to fly on the suborbital New Shepard rocket of Blue Origin, which is designed to launch passengers to an altitude roughly six times beyond the boundary of space.
The rocket is taking off from the launch facility center of Blue Origin near Van Horn, Texas, carrying customers in a capsule perched atop the rocket.
What Will Happen During the NS-21 Mission?
Once at a certain height, the rocket and capsule separate, and customers encounter a few minutes of weightlessness while seeing the Earth's curvature from space.
Eventually, both the capsule and rocket fall back to the ground. The latter lands upright using its engine while the former lands beneath parachutes.
This latest flight was originally supposed to happen on May 20, 2022, but the company delayed the mission after it found that one of the backup systems of New Shepard was not meeting Blue Origin's expectations for performance, according to the company.
Now, the flight is back on for the first-week-of-June mission, with a launch window slated to open at 9 am ET. Those who have seen New Shepard before find this one will appear more or less the same as the rest if all goes well.
However, for those who cannot get enough New Shepard flights, the coverage of Blue Origin starts around an hour before takeoff.
Related information about Blue Origin's fifth passenger flight's launch is shown on Space.com's YouTube video below:
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Check out more news and information on Blue Origin in Science Times.
