Blue Origin launched its third manned space tourism mission on Saturday, sending six people – including the daughter of famous American astronaut Alan Shepard and television personality Michael Strahan – on a 10-minute suborbital ride.
The company founded by Jeff Bezos – named after the first American astronaut to reach space – “New Shepard” spacecraft has lifted off from the company’s launch site in Texas.
The crew capsule reached an altitude of about 350,000 feet (106 km) before a parachute-assisted descent and landing on the desert floor. The internationally recognized space border is known as the Karman Line, which is approximately 100 km above Earth.
The entire trip lasted just over 10 minutes, with the crew having lived a few minutes in zero gravity at the top of their flight path.
Accompanying the Blue Origin recovery team, Bezos himself opened the capsule door to the cheers of the crew, which included four additional paying customers. “Guests of honor” Laura Shepard Churchley and “Good Morning America” host Strahan. It was the first time the company had transported a crew of six after carrying four people on its two previous launches.
Bezos also pinned commercial astronaut wings to the crew’s blue flight suits. They are probably the last people to receive the badges. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has traditionally given the little pins to people who travel more than 80 km above the Earth’s surface, but will end this practice at the end of the year due to space tourism. commercial.
The Blue Origin crew capsule has landed, ending a 10-minute journey into suborbital space for former NFL player Michael Strahan, Laura Shepard Churchey – daughter of former NASA astronaut Alan Shepard – and four paying passengers. https://t.co/6vHDEIhqsDpic.twitter.com/DOzjCMXBiX
– Vol spatial maintenant (@SpaceflightNow) December 11, 2021
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Speaking to Amazon founder Bezos, Churchley said he was struck by seeing the darkness of space inside the capsule. The voices of the crew were heard in the capsule’s audio transmissions that were played as the vehicle neared the end of its flight.
Meanwhile, Strahan, a former NFL star, jokingly referred to NBA star Kyrie Irving in response to a question about whether the Earth was round. Irving once proclaimed he believed it was flat. Strahan also wanted to redo the flight, but Bezos joked that he would have to fork over money for the next one. Blue Origin has not disclosed how much its paying guests paid for their seats.
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