Blue Origin to launch the NS-26 space tourism mission today: Space Report…

Last updated on August 30th, 2024 at 02:25 pm

Blue Origin will launch its eighth suborbital space tourism mission today. Blue Origin, which is run by Amazon founder Jeff Bezoz, plans to launch a six person NS-26 flight from west Texas spaceport today during a window that opens at 9.00 am EDT (1300 GMT, 8 am local Texas time).

As the mission’s name suggests, NS 26 will be the 26th flight overall for New Shepard. It will be the eighth such mission to carry people. New Shepard flights last 10 to 12 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown. Passengers aboard the spaceship would get to experience a few moments of weightlessness and travel above the Karman line, the 62 mile high (100 km) marker that is usually regarded as the boundary of outer space.

The company has not revealed how much a seat aboard New Shepherd costs. Virgin Galactic, the company’s main competitor in the suborbital space tourism field as of now charges $450000 per head in tickets.

The crew consists of six people who would fly the NS 26 are philanthropist and entrepreneur Nicolina Elrick, university professor Rob Ferl, businessman Eugene Grin, cardiologist Eiman Jahangir, college student Karslen Kitchen, and entrepreneur Ephraim Rabin.

Kitchen will be the youngest of the crew and will set a record of being the youngest person to cross the Karman Line according to Blue Origin.