Latest news with #LaunchSiteOne
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Katy Perry, Gayle King launch into space on Blue Origin rocket
April 14 (UPI) -- Pop singer Katy Perry and TV host Gayle King launched into space Monday as part of Blue Origin's eleventh space tourism launch. The all-female crew took off at 9:30 a.m. EDT in Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle, known as NS-31, from the company's Launch Site One, around 30 miles outside of Van Horn, Texas. New Shepard touched down at 9:39 a.m. as the crew parachuted back down to Earth and landed in their capsule with a puff of dust near the rocket at 9:42 a.m. following the brief flight. The crew emerged from the capsule shortly after 9:50 a.m. "I'm so excited about this launch," Perry said in an Instagram video earlier Monday, and then teased she would make a special announcement once she reaches zero gravity. Oprah Winfrey, who was on hand for the launch, posted a video of King and the rest of the NS-31 crew as they drove to the launchpad Monday, during which King appeared to wipe away tears. The NS-31 Mission crew also includes former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, researcher and Nobel Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen, filmmaker Kerianne Flynn and journalist Lauren Sanchez. Their destination is the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space, better known as the Karman line, and, once they arrive, will be weightless for approximately four minutes.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has now flown more than 50 people into space
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has hit a new milestone after sending six space tourists on a high-speed trip to the edge of space and back. The aerospace company on Tuesday launched its tenth crewed flight as part of its New Shepard program, which has now launched 50 people beyond the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. As of its last mission, which occurred in November, 47 people had been flown into space by the company. Tuesday's flight, NS-30, is the 30th overall of the New Shepard, a vehicle consisting of a reusable booster and capsule. The rocket lifted off at around 10:50 a.m. ET from Corn Ranch, also known as Launch Site One, returning at 11:01 a.m. ET. Six people were on the flight, including Tushar Shah, a partner at a New York-based hedge fund, media entrepreneur and physicist Elaine Chia Hyde, and Spanish television host Jesús Calleja. They were joined by Dr. Richard Scott, the CEO of the largest fertility care group in the world, and an unidentified sixth person who has the surname Wilson, according to the NS-30 mission patch. After experiencing the brief journey beyond Earth's atmosphere, Calleja was visibly moved. 'It's difficult for me now to explain,' he said after exiting the capsule, calling the experience marvelous and beautiful. 'I miss my small dream. I cried.' The crew also included Lane Bess, who joined the third crewed mission alongside former New York Giants player and media personality Michael Strahan. Bess, a venture capitalist and former CEO of Palo Alto Networks (PANW), is one of just four astronauts who have flown with Blue Origin twice. It's not clear how much Blue Origin charges for seats on its flights, although not all past passengers have had to pay. Austin Litteral won his spot on New Shepard's ninth crewed mission through a giveaway sponsored by Whatnot, a live-stream shopping platform. Richard Branson's rival, Virgin Galactic (SPCE), sells tickets for about $600,000 per person, including an initial $150,000 payment. So-called space balloon companies, such as Space Perspective, charge around $150,000 per seat for trips that don't reach the Kármán Line, according to Robb Report. High prices are partially why passengers on such flights tend to be wealthy, influential, or both. Many of Blue Origin's customers have connections to the space industry — such as the daughter of Alan Shepard, who the New Shepard is named after, or aviation pioneer Wally Funk — or are current or former business executives. Bezos himself flew on his company's first crewed mission alongside Funk, his brother Mark Bezos, and Oliver Daemen, the son of a private equity firm executive. William Shatner, best known for his portrayal of Captain James Kirk in 'Star Trek,' became the oldest person to fly into space at 90 years old, beating Funk's own record. Daemen is the youngest. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
