Blue Origin Targets Friday for Next Space Tourism Mission

Blue Origin on Monday announced that its latest space tourism mission, NS-28, will launch as early as Friday morning. Among the six-person crew are husband-and-wife pair Sharon and Marc Hagle—the company’s first repeat customers—and “Space Gal” Emily Calandrelli, the Emmy-nominated host of space-themed television and web series like Xploration Outer Space.

NS-28 will mark the ninth human spaceflight for Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and the company’s 28th mission overall.

All Blue Origin space tourism missions are flown using New Shepard, a fully reusable design named after NASA astronaut Alan Shepard. The rocket launches from the company’s Launch Site One spaceport in Texas and zips customers to the edge of space at nearly three times the speed of sound. There, passengers can unbuckle to spend a few moments floating in zero gravity, basking in the planet’s blue glow. From takeoff to touchdown, the journey lasts about 11 minutes.

New Shepard so far has flown 43 paying customers and Blue Origin guests, among them Star Trek icon William Shatner, NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, and Laura Shepard Churchley, Shepard’s daughter.

Philanthropists Sharon and Marc Hagle flew during the NS-20 mission in 2022. But the couple couldn’t resist returning for NS-28. Calandrelli, who is also an Massachusetts Institute of Technology-educated engineer, author of nine books, and activist, hopes her ride can inspire more young women to follow in her footsteps.

Joining that trio will be entrepreneur J.D. Russell and investment firm executive Hank Wolfond, a lifelong pilot. Rounding out the crew is Austin Litteral, a risk management professional who won his spot through a giveaway sponsored by livestream shopping platform Whatnot.

The NS-28 mission patch, which Blue Origin unveiled Monday, includes a nod to each crewmember: a woman wearing pink overalls meant to represent Calandrelli, a wolf for Wolfond, and a sea of stars for Litteral, to name a few.

The mission will be streamed live on Blue Origin’s website.

For the space tourism firm, 2024 is shaping up to be a rebound year. New Shepard was grounded by the FAA throughout all of 2023 following the crash of an uncrewed escape capsule the year prior. But the company resumed crewed New Shepard flights in May and has completed three space tourism missions since.

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