Blue Origin Launches Six Passengers on 12th Human Spaceflight

West Texas, USA — Blue Origin successfully launched its New Shepard rocket on June 29, marking the company’s 13th crewed spaceflight since 2021. The NS-33 mission carried six paying passengers on an approximately 11-minute journey to just above the Kármán Line, the boundary of space.

The passengers experienced several minutes of weightlessness and enjoyed stunning views of Earth’s curvature before safely descending back to the Texas desert. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket ascended to about 100 kilometers above Earth during the flight.

The six passengers included Allie and Carl Kuehner, Leland Larson, Freddie Rescigno, Jr., Owolabi Salis, and James Sitkin. Blue Origin has established a tradition of diverse crews, featuring entrepreneurs, scientists, and space enthusiasts.

Soon after its first crewed flight in July 2021, which included founder Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin has flown over 60 people on short suborbital missions. The New Shepard system is fully autonomous, reusable, and is designed with safety in mind for both human passengers and research payloads.

The launch was originally scheduled for an earlier date but was delayed. Despite occasional setbacks, Blue Origin aims to increase access to space for civilians as it competes with other space tourism companies like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX.

“This flight showcases our commitment to commercial space travel,” said a Blue Origin representative. The successful launch of NS-33 further cements Blue Origin’s role in the growing commercial space tourism market.