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Blue Origin hasn’t carried out a crewed launch since 2022, and is getting ready to do so once more after being required to implement 21 fixes required by the Federal Aviation Administration last year. Six human beings are flying aboard its New Shepard rocket today, including Ed Dwight, the first Black astronaut candidate, who was selected by US President John F. Kennedy, but never made it into space.
The five other passengers on the flight are Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, and Gopi Thotakura. The company posted just after 8AM ET that New Shepard was vertical on the launchpad, and that it had updated its targeted launch time to 10:13AM ET.
Today’s flight will be its seventh one with an actual crew on board. Blue Origin paused its space tourism flights in 2022 after a booster failed on an uncrewed flight, prompting an FAA investigation that led to the US regulator’s recommendations.
Correction May 19th: This article previously said this is Blue Origin’s sixth crewed mission, but in fact, it’s the seventh. That has been corrected, as has the spelling of Ed Dwight’s name.
T-minus 10 minutes.
Blue Origin is pushing NS-25’s launch a little further back from 10:13
Blue Origin has started loading the crew for NS-25 onboard.
The company has also updated its targeted launch time for New Shepard’s NS-25 mission to 10:13AM ET. The livestream is also showing video now.
Blue Origin’s first crewed launch since 2022: Where to watch
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Image: Blue Origin
It’s been over a year and a half since Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket failed mid-flight, and more than two since its last crewed flight. Now, the company is go to launch six human beings into space. The company’s launch window begins at 6:30AM PT / 9:30AM ET, but will start streaming 40 minutes ahead of time on its website.
Blue Origin also normally streams its launches live on its YouTube channel, so it’s a pretty safe bet it will do so for its NS-25 mission tomorrow. Assuming the launch goes as planned, it will carry six passengers aboard, including the 90-year-old Ed Dwight, who was America’s first Black astronaut candidate but has never been to space. The other passengers are Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, and Gopi Thotakura.