The six passengers — a mix of business people and specialists in the space industry — took their seats inside a capsule atop Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard rocket at the company’s facility in West Texas on Thursday, March 31.
The single-stage rocket lifted off at just before 9 a.m. local time, blasting the tourists to about four miles above the Kármán line, the point 62 miles above Earth that’s generally regarded as the start of space. Around three minutes into the 10-minute experience, the passengers were able to leave their seats and float around inside the capsule during a short period of weightlessness. Stunning views of Earth were also part of the package. After climbing back into their seats, the passengers then experienced a parachute-assisted descent before landing close to the launch site.
As well as being the first crewed flight of this year, Blue Origin’s mission was also the first not to include an invited celebrity among its passenger list. Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson was supposed to be on board but pulled out when Blue Origin changed the launch date due to poor weather conditions at the launch site.