Blue Origin Launches 6 New Astronauts Into Space
The third crewed flight of a Blue Origin New Shepard launch system was conducted today. The “RSS First Step” left Earth just after 10:00 am ET for a quick flight above the Karman Line followed by a perfect landing of the booster and space capsule at the Texas launch site.
On board were Dylan Taylor, Voyager Space; Michael Strahan, ABC; investor Evan Dick; Lane Ventures founder Lane Bess and his son Cameron Bess; and Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of the first US astronaut Alan Shepard.
According to a statement: “We had a great flight today. This was our sixth flight in what has been a great year for the New Shepard program. We flew 14 astronauts to space, flew a NASA payload flight that tested lunar landing sensors and completed our certification test flights,” said Bob Smith, CEO Blue Origin. “I want to thank our payload customers, our astronauts and, of course, Team Blue for these many important accomplishments. I am so proud to be part of this dedicated and hard-working team that ensures that each and every flight of New Shepard is safe and reliable. And it’s fun to say that this is just the beginning.”
Several tweets by @BlueOrigin provided updates on the flight itself: “The booster reached an apogee of 347,231 ft AGL / 350,878 ft MSL (106 km AGL / 107 km MSL). The crew capsule reached an apogee of 347,580 ft above ground level (AGL) / 351,227 ft mean sea level (MSL) (106 km AGL / 107 km MSL).”
The View From Space
The view from #NewShepard at apogee is something our #NS19 astronauts will never forget. Today’s flight featured a full capsule of six astronauts, each with their own window seat. pic.twitter.com/MOUT4YgnLC
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) December 11, 2021
Watch a replay of the mission
