NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Suborbital
Success

NS-16

Launch Time
Tue Jul 20, 2021 13:11 UTC

First time New Shepard launched astronauts to space.

Rocket

New Shepard
Image Credit: Blue Origin
Blue Origin
Status: Active
Liftoff Thrust: 490 kN
Payload to LEO: 0 kg
Payload to GTO: 0 kg
Stages: 2
Strap-ons: 0
Rocket Height: 18.0 m

Vehicles

North Landing Pad

NS4

Flight #3
97 day turnaround
16th New Shepard recovery attempt
15th successful New Shepard recovery
15th consecutive successful New Shepard landing and recovery

Mission Details

NS-16

NS-16 was Blue Origin’s first time carrying astronauts to space. A crew of four flew on this mission. One of the crew members bought a seat through an auction for $28 million. However, they were not able to attend due to a scheduling conflict, so their seat was filled by 18-year-old Oliver Daemen. Daemen is Blue Origin's first paying customer and will become the youngest person to fly to space. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and his brother Mark will fill two more seats. The fourth and final crew member is Wally Funk, one of the Mercury 13. Funk became the oldest person to fly to space, up to the time of this flight.

After the ascent, the crew had roughly three minutes of weightlessness before the capsule began to reenter the atmosphere. Once in the atmosphere, the capsule deployed its parachutes and landed softly in the Texas desert.

Suborbital

Location

Launch Site One, West Texas, Texas, USA

Stats

Blue Origin

16th mission
3rd mission of 2021
16th successful mission

New Shepard

16th mission
3rd mission of 2021
16th successful mission