REYKJAVÍK, Iceland — Blue Origin sent six people to space on a suborbital spaceflight May 31 that the company’s chief executive says is both a good business and a way to test technology.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle lifted off from the company’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 9:39 a.m. Eastern.
This was the 12th crewed flight of New Shepard and the vehicle has now carried 64 people, four of whom have flown more than once.
This was the fourth New Shepard flight so far this year, three of which carried people and the fourth a payload-only flight that simulated lunar gravity.
“First of all, it’s a good business,” he said.
REYKJAVÍK, Iceland — Blue Origin conducted a suborbital spaceflight on May 31 that launched six people into space, which the company’s CEO says is a good business and a way to test technology.
At 9:39 a.m., Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle took off from Launch Site One in West Texas. A. Eastern. . The booster landed a few minutes after the capsule, which had reached an apogee of 105 kilometers, 10 minutes later.
Six people were on board the NS-32 mission, which is now a routine flight for the company.
The Mexican healthcare organization Farmacias Similares sponsored the flight of Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge, a Texas educator.
Gretchen Green is a physician and businesswoman.
The former ambassador of Panama to the United States was Jaime Alemán, a lawyer from Panama.
Jesse Williams is a Canadian adventurer and businessman.
Mark Rocket, a businessman from New Zealand who was a co-director of Rocket Lab for a while and an early investor; and.
Developer of real estate Paul Jeris.
The New Shepard has now transported 64 passengers, four of whom have flown on multiple occasions, and this was the 12th crewed flight. Alemán was the first Panamanian to fly into space, and Rocket was the first person from New Zealand to do so.
Three of the four New Shepard flights this year have carried passengers, and the fourth was a payload-only mission that replicated lunar gravity. The company has not revealed how many flights it plans to operate this year.
According to Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, who spoke at the Humans to the Moon and Mars Summit by Explore Mars on May 28, the company is still dedicated to New Shepard despite operating its New Glenn launch vehicle and developing the Blue Moon lander and other capabilities.
Limp echoed remarks he made at the Commercial Space Conference in February when he stated that New Shepard allows the company to test technologies for other programs in addition to working independently as a service.
“It’s a good business, first of all,” he stated. Although it’s still very difficult to do so at the moment, there is an unquenchable desire among people who grew up dreaming of space to travel there. He withheld information about how successful the company is, and the business has historically been reluctant to reveal pricing or other relevant details.
He continued by saying, “We would still fly New Shepard because it’s such a good testbed,” even if those missions weren’t a good business opportunity. He gave the examples of testing the lidar that is a component of the landing system of the company’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander, which is scheduled to make its first flight later this year, and flight-testing avionics on New Shepard for use on New Glenn.
