Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, today successfully launched its sixth manned mission into space from its West Texas facility.
Flight NS-26, which was the 26th mission of the New Shepard rocket capsule system, carried six passengers on a short suborbital journey.
WATCH BLUE ORIGIN FLY SIX TOURISTS INTO SPACE
The New Shepard vehicle lifted off at 6:45 p.m. IST and crossed the Karman Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space at an altitude of 100 kilometers. Passengers experienced several minutes of weightlessness and breathtaking views of Earth before their capsule parachuted safely back into the Texas desert.
With this mission, Blue Origin continues its efforts to establish itself as a leader in the emerging space tourism industry. While the company has not disclosed the cost per seat, its main competitor Virgin Galactic currently charges $450,000 for similar suborbital flights.
Flight NS-26 carried a diverse crew of six, including Karsen Kitchen, who at age 18 became the youngest woman to cross the Karman Line, Rob Ferl, a NASA-funded researcher conducting plant experiments in microgravity, Nicolina Elrick, a philanthropist and entrepreneur, Eugene Grin, an American-Israeli businessman, Dr. Eiman Jahangir, a physician, and Ephraim Rabin, founder and CEO of a chemical technology company.
The entire flight took about 10 minutes from launch to landing, demonstrating the efficiency and reusability of Blue Origin’s New Shepard system. This rapid turnaround capability is critical to the company’s plans to make space travel more accessible and frequent.
As Blue Origin continues to refine its operations and expand its customer base, the successful flight represents another step toward Jeff Bezos’ vision of millions of people living and working in space.
With each mission, the company gains valuable experience and data, paving the way for more ambitious space projects in the future.
The space tourism industry is evolving rapidly, and Blue Origin’s steady progress with the New Shepard flights highlights the growing opportunities for civilian space travel.
