A space company founded by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, which has already taken over 30 people to outer space, is planning another human flight after several delays and setbacks for the New Shepard program.
What Happened: Blue Origin has taken 31 astronauts into space, including Bezos and his brother Mark Bezos, former NFL player Michael Strahan, content creator Coby Cotton of "Dude Perfect" and actor William Shatner.
The company recently announced plans for a six-person crew on its NS-25 mission. The flight will mark its seventh crewed flight as part of the New Shepard program and the 25th in company history.
The list of future astronauts that will take part in the flight are:
- Ed Dwight: Chosen by President John F. Kennedy as the nation's first Black astronaut candidate in 1961 but was never given the opportunity to go to space. The entrepreneur has his seat sponsored by nonprofit Space for Humanity.
- Mason Angel: Founder of venture capital fund Industrious Ventures
- Sylvain Chiron: Founder of craft brewery Brasserie Mont Blanc, one of the largest craft breweries in France
- Kenneth L. Hess: software engineer, entrepreneur, founder of nonprofit Science Buddies, which focuses on STEM initiatives for K-12 grades
- Carol Schaller: retired CPA who has visited South Pole and been to Mount Everest Base Camp
- Gopi Thotakura: pilot and aviator, co-founder of applied health company Preserve Life Corp
A flight date for the seventh crewed Blue Origin space flight will be announced soon.
Related Link: Elon Musk Wants Space Stations On Mars & The Moon: Rival General Motors Could Build Lunar Vehicle That Carries The Astronauts
Why It's Important: The planned flight by Blue Origin follows a period of setbacks, starting with troubles during an uncrewed flight in September 2022. These issues led to several months of inactivity, until a December 2023 uncrewed flight marked the company’s first launch in over a year.
Rival space flight company Virgin Galactic Holdings SPCE has planned spaceflight Galactic 07 for the second quarter before it will pause space flights to focus on profitability and spaceship production.
Blue Origin's new flight comes after Odysseus from Intuitive Machines LUNR completed the first lunar landing for the U.S. in over 50 years and had the first privately built spacecraft to land on the moon.
Interest in space travel could see an increase after the moon landing and as billionaires like Bezos and Elon Musk guide their space companies towards potential future trips to the Moon and Mars.
While space flights with Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin come with a high cost, they remain the only way for private citizens to currently go to space.
The next Blue Origin flight will be closely watched after the setback suffered in 2022 and to see if more people show interest in space travel after the lunar landing.
Photo: Blue Origin
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