Blue Origin has successfully completed its NS-25 mission, resuming crewed flights for the first time in nearly two years.
The mission took six tourist crew members to the far reaches of space, including artist and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight. In 1961, Dwight was selected by President John F. Kennedy to be the nation’s first black astronaut candidate, but he never went to space until today. Other passengers include software engineer and entrepreneur Ken Hess; Carol Schaller, retired accountant; Sylvain Chiron, founder of the Brasserie Mont Blanc brewery; aviator Gopi Thotakura; and venture capitalist Mason Angel of Industrious Ventures.
“I thought the idea of going to space with Blue Origin was a fascinating final chapter,” Dwight said in a promotional video from Blue Origin. “I really, really want to do this because every person who goes up there all of a sudden has a totally different perspective on this little place here.”
The New Shepard rocket and crew capsule returned safely to Earth.
Blue Origin – the private space company founded by Jeff Bezos – suspended launches after the NS-22 mission experienced an anomaly in August 2022, causing the mission to abort after liftoff.
The company worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to identify 21 corrective actions before New Shepard’s next launch. The rocket returned to service in December 2023 in an unmanned launch that carried 33 payloads into space.
As NS-25’s name suggests, today is New Shepard’s 25th mission, and it is the seventh mission with humans on board. Today’s flight brings Blue Origin to a total number of 37 human passengers carried into space.
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