Jeff Bezos’ space exploration company Blue Origin made its fourth successful tourism trip into Space on Thursday.
PATRICK T. FALLON | Getty Images
Six people flew in the New Shepard, including one Blue Origin employee and six customers who paid for their spots on the vehicle.
The ship reached a maximum velocity of 2,235 mph and flew just passed the Kármán line, the boundary that’s recognized as crossing Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
Aboard the ship were CEO and investor Marty Allen, Sharon (founder of non-profit SpaceKids Global) and Marc Hagle (CEO of Tricor International), Dr. George Nield, president of Commercial Space Technologies, LLC, Gary Lai (Blue Origin) and Jim Kitchen (teacher and entrepreneur.)
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“Congratulations to our astronauts on today’s mission above the Kármán Line,” Phil Joyce, Senior Vice President of New Shepard for Blue Origin said in a company statement. “We had the honor of safely flying this crew of six – each person with their own story of mentorship and passion for human spaceflight. We’re looking forward to many more flights this year, and we’re grateful to our astronaut customers for their trust in this amazing team.”
Noticeably missing from the flight was Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson, who was originally slated to fly on the New Shepard on March 23.
When the date was pushed back to March 29 (and then again to March 31, for weather-related reasons) Blue Origin said that Davidson would no longer be able to attend without giving any specific reason.
Two of the passengers on Thursdays flight, married couple Sharon and Marc Hagle, shared that their trip on the New Shepard would not be their only planned space exploration trip.
The couple revealed to Business Insider that they have already signed up to take flight with Virgin Group founder Richard Branson’s space exploration company Virgin Galactic and are “having conversations” with Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to Business Insider.
Blue Origin has not announced when its next flight is slated for but said that the company is planning more flights throughout the end of the year.
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