Latest news with #NewShepard
Broadcast Pro
01-07-2025
- Business
- Broadcast Pro
Blue Origins NS-33 mission sends first Nigerian to space
Blue Origin has completed 13 crewed missions since its sub-orbital spacecraft first carried founder Jeff Bezos and three other passengers into space in July 2021. Blue Origin has launched its 13th human spaceflight, the NS-33 mission. The flight carried six passengers beyond the Kármán line, reaching an altitude of 105.2 km (345,044 ft) and giving the crew a striking view of Earth and the unique sensation of weightlessness, according to a report by Space In Africa. Among the passengers was Chief Owolabi Salis from Ikorodu, Lagos, who became the first Nigerian to travel to space. Describing the mission as a convergence of science and spirit, Salis expressed hopes that his journey would inspire young people across Africa to engage with science and space exploration. Known for his work in community development and youth empowerment, he emphasised the missions potential to spark curiosity and ambition in future generations. Salis safe return home was met with celebrations in Nigeria, where he was hailed as a national hero. His flight underscores Africas growing involvement in space initiatives and highlights the continents expanding presence in the global space community. The NS-33 mission patch featured green rings representing Earths horizon and the Kármán line, symbolising humanitys drive to explore beyond known boundaries. Blue Origins New Shepard programme continues to pioneer reusable rocket technology and private space tourism, with 33 successful flights to date. As interest in space accelerates across Africa, Salis achievement may open doors for more African participants, advancing a new era of inclusivity in space exploration.
UPI
30-06-2025
- Science
- UPI
Blue Origin launches six tourists on 13th passenger flight
Blue Origin launched 6 more tourists into space and back on Sunday from Texas on its 13th flight. File Photo courtesy of Blue Origin June 30 (UPI) -- Blue Origin launched six more tourists into space and back on Sunday from Texas on its 13th passenger flight. The company's New Shepard rocket lifted off Sunday 10:39 a.m. EDT with Allie and Carl Kuehner, Leland Larson, Freddie Rescigno, Jr., Owolabi Salis and James Sitkn on board. The rocket's hydrogen-fueled BE-3 engine fired up for about two and a half minutes, boosting the spacecraft to high speeds. The capsule then broke off from the booster, allowing it to reach its highest point away from Earth, giving the passengers the chance to experience weightlessness. Throughout the flight the passengers were about to soak in the view of space as the ship climbed up to the internationally accepted boundary between Earth and space, the Karman Line. The capsule came back to earth and the booster returned back to the launch site. Carl Kuehner became the 70th of the Blue Origin astronauts, as well as the 750th person in history to reach space according to the Association of Space Explorers' Registry of Space Travelers. Blue Origin has launched 13 passenger flights since Jeff Bezos' flight in July 2021. The company has launched 74 passengers, four of them have flown twice. The cost to fly on the New Shepard has not yet been revealed.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Blue Origin launches 6 tourists on suborbital trip from Texas, including 750th person ever to fly into space
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Blue Origin sent its 70th person into space today (June 29) on its 13th rocket flight to carry passengers. The company's New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle lifted off Saturday at 9:39 a.m. CDT (10:39 a.m. EDT or 1439 GMT) from its Launch Site One in West Texas. On board were husband and wife Allie and Carl Kuehner, Leland Larson, Freddie Rescigno, Jr., Owolabi Salis and James Sitkin. Carl Kuehner became Blue Origin's astronaut number 70, which based on prior precedent, was determined by the seat on board the New Shepard capsule that he assigned for the flight. He also became the 750th person in history to reach space, as recorded by the Association of Space Explorers' Registry of Space Travelers. The 10-minute NS-33 mission — numbered such as this was Blue Origin's 33rd New Shepard flight overall — went to plan, with both the propulsion module (Tail 5) making a safe vertical landing and the crew capsule, named "RSS Kármán Line," returning the passengers to a parachute-slowed, air thruster-cushioned touchdown not far from where they launched. For about three minutes as the gumdrop-shaped capsule reached its apogee, or highest point away from Earth, the Kuehners, Larson, Rescigno, Salis and Sitkin experienced weightlessness and saw the curvature of the planet set against the stark blackness of space. The flight reached a 345,044 feet (105.2 km) above the ground, surpassing the Kármán Line, the internationally-accepted boundary between Earth and space at 62 miles high (100 kilometers). Flying along with the crew were more than 1,000 physical and digital postcards designed by students and the public, as collected by The Museum of Flight in Seattle and Parkcrest Elementary in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The cards are part of an on going project by Blue Origin's non-profit organization Club For the Future. As with all New Shepard fights, the cost per seat on NS-33 was not disclosed. The passengers included an environmentalist, the chairman of a real estate development firm, the former CEO of a public transportation company, an electrical wire and cable distributor, and two attorneys. The six NS-33 passengers dubbed themselves "The Solstice 33," as they were originally scheduled to launch on the summer solstice (June 21) but were delayed by poor weather conditions. Their flight brought the total number of people who have flown on suborbital flights to 123, according to the Association of Space Explorers.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Blue Origin successfully launches latest human flight from West Texas
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — After a week's delay, space technology company Blue Origin successfully launched its latest human crewed New Shepard flight on Sunday, June 29 from its launch facility outside of Van Horn, Texas. Last week, the crewed flight was scrubbed twice because of windy weather. Sunday's New Shepard flight — named after legendary astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American to travel into space — was the company's 13th human space flight and 33rd overall for the program. Including Sunday's flight, New Shepard has flown 70 people to space, including four who have flown twice. New Shepard is Blue Origin's fully resusable, suborbital rocket system built for human flight. During the 11-minute flight, astronauts travel past the Karman line — 62 miles up and the internationally recognized boundary of space. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
6 civilians blast off to the edge of space on Blue Origin
Blue Origin launched its 13th crewed mission to the edge of space on Sunday morning, sending six civilian astronauts, including a married couple, past the Karman line and back in a little over 10 minutes. The private space program's reusable New Shepard booster rocket ignited and cleared the launch pad tower in the West Texas desert and took about three-and-a-half minutes to travel the 62 miles to the Karman Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. The trip -- dubbed NS-33 for the 33rd New Shepard mission -- was originally planned for June 21 but had to be scrubbed twice due to the weather, Blue Origin officials said. Passengers on the flight included Allie Kuehner, an environmentalist and conservationist, and Carl Kuehner, chairman of the real estate development company Building and Land Technology, who became the second married couple to travel aboard Blue Origin on the round-trip to the Karman line. The trip marked the third suborbital human spaceflight for the Blue Origin New Shepard program since April 13, when an all-female crew that included singer Katy Perry, CBS News journalist Gayle King, and aviator Lauren Sanchez, who's now the wife of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos following their marriage Friday in Venice, Italy. MORE: Video Blue Origin successfully launches its 12th crewed flight to space Other space tourists aboard Sunday's Blue Origin flight were Leland Larson, a philanthropist and former CEO of an Oregon school bus transportation company; Freddie Rescigno Jr., president of a Georgia electrical cable company and a competitive golfer; and Jim Sitkin, a California attorney. Also on the flight was Owolabi Salis, an attorney and a financial consultant who became the first Nigerian-born person to go to space. MORE: Blue Origin mission with all-female crew, including Katy Perry, completes space trip The group lifted off from Blue Origin's Launch Site One, about 20 miles north of the West Texas town of Van Horn, at approximately 10:38 am ET. Sunday's flight lasted about 10 minutes and 33 seconds, allowing the civilian crew a chance to unbuckle from their seats and briefly experience weightlessness in the capsule. The New Shepard rocket, the company's fully reusable and fully autonomous spacecraft, separated from the capsule and returned to Earth ahead of the astronauts, safely descending and touching down on a landing pad not far from the launch site. MORE: Blue Origin mission complete recap: Michael Strahan reflects on trip to space At approximately 5 minutes and 20 seconds into the flight, the civilian astronauts returned to their seats for their journey back to terra firma. The capsule returned to Earth with the help of three giant parachutes. Sunday's mission was the 13th human flight for the company's New Shepard program and the 33rd since Blue Origin was started in 2000 by Bezos, the 61-year-old billionaire founder of Amazon. Seventy humans have now flown to space on Blue Origin since the company's first human flight in July 2021, according to the company. ABC News' Matthew Glasser contributed to this report.
