Blue Origin successfully completed its NS-25 mission and resumed human flights for the first time in almost two years.
The mission took six tour crew members to the edge of space, including artist and former Air Force captain Ed Dwight. In 1961, Dwight was selected by President John F. Kennedy to be the country's first black astronaut candidate, but he never traveled to space until today. Other passengers include software engineer and entrepreneur Ken Hess; retired accountant Carol Schaller; 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 last chapter,” Dwight said in twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1792189741149856045″>a promotional video from Blue Origin. “I really want to do this because every person who goes up there suddenly has a totally different perspective on this little place.”
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The New Shepard rocket and its crew capsule have returned safely to Earth.
Blue Origin, the private space company founded by Jeff Bezos, paused launches after the NS-22 mission experienced an anomaly in August 2022, causing the mission to be canceled after liftoff.
The company worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to identify 21 corrective actions before the upcoming launch of New Shepard. 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 marks New Shepard's 25th mission and its seventh mission with humans on board. Today's flight brings Blue Origin to a total of 37 human passengers transported to space.
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