Blue Origin on Saturday successfully completed its third human spaceflight, launching six people, including former NFL player Michael Strahan, into near space.
Saturday’s mission, referred to as NS-19, was the first time the company had six passengers aboard its New Shepard rocket. Besides Strahan, other passengers included Laura Shepard Churchley, the daughter of NASA astronaut Alan Shepard, and paying customers Dylan Taylor, Evan Dick, Lane Bess and Cameron Bess.
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
The New Shepard rocket achieved liftoff from its spaceport in West Texas at around 9:00 a.m. CST. It reached a maximum ascent velocity of 2,244 mph (3,611 kmh) before returning back to Earth. The total trip time was about 10 minutes.
“This was our sixth flight in what has been a great year for the New Shepard program,” said Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith. We flew 14 astronauts to space, flew a NASA payload flight that tested lunar landing sensors and completed our certification test flights.”
The company, which previously launched founder Jeff Bezos into space in July, is planning several crewed and payload flights in 2022. Watch the entire spaceflight in the video above.
In other news, William Shatner’s Blue Origin space voyage is being turned into an Amazon documentary.
