Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin blasts third private crew into space
Dec 11, 2021
New York [US], December 12 : Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin on Saturday morning (local time) blasted its third private crew into space.
This flight marked the third of what Blue Origin hopes will be many space tourism launches, carrying wealthy customers to the edge of space, reported CNN.
This is the first time that Blue Origin filled all six seats on its New Shepard rocket and capsule, which is named for Alan Shepard.
On the company's two previous flights -- including the July flight that sent Bezos himself to space -- only four of the seats were taken up, reported CNN.
The group blasted off aboard Blue Origin's suborbital space tourism rocket at 9:01 am CT from the company's launch facilities near the rural town of Van Horn, Texas and took a supersonic, 10-minute flight that reached more than 60 miles above the Earth's surface before parachuting to a landing.
The crew consisted of Good Morning America host Michael Strahan, the daughter of famed astronaut Alan Shepard, and four paying customers on a supersonic joy ride.
Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, whose father Alan Shepard went on a suborbital flight in 1961 and later walked on the moon, rode alongside investors Dylan Taylor, Evan Dick, and Lane Bess, as well as Bess' adult child, Cameron Bess -- all of whom were paying customers, reported CNN.
Blue Origin said that Strahan and Shepard Churchley were "honorary guests," much like the last celebrity Blue Origin sent to the edge of space, William Shatner, and did not have to pay their way.
Strahan announced his plans to join the flight during a segment on Good Morning America last month, noting that Blue Origin had him measured for his flight suit and had him test out one of the New Shepard capsule's seats to ensure he'd fit.
It's not clear how much money the paying customers on Saturday's flight shelled out for their seats. Blue Origin has not publicly identified a ticket price, though the company did host an auction earlier this year to sell an extra seat alongside Bezos during his July flight, reported CNN.
