Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin sends six people to edge of space in its fourth human flight

Jeff Bezos‘ space venture Blue Origin on Thursday successfully conducted its fourth human flight to the edge of space with six people.

The 20th mission of the New Shepard rocket lifted off a little after 8.30 a.m. CDT (7.00 p.m.) from Launch Site One in West Texas.

The flight carries Gary Lai, New Shepard Chief Architect, Marty Allen, CEO of retail company Party America and angel investor, Jim Kitchen, a teacher, entrepreneur, and world explorer, Dr. George Nield, president of Commercial Space Technologies; and husband and wife duo Sharon and Marc Hagle.

Sharon is founder of nonprofit SpaceKids Global, while Marc is President and CEO of Tricor International, a residential and commercial property development corporation.

Earlier, the company had announced Saturday Night Live fame Pete Davidson for the fourth human flight. But later it said “Davidson is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission”.

The mission also faced several delays due to “high winds” and other unfavourable weather. It was first slated for launch on March 23 and then on March 29. Incidentally, the mission was also launched on a day when there was a threat of solar eruptions hitting Earth.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reportedly predicted a G2 or G3 (moderate) geomagnetic storm to enter Earth. Last month, rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX lost about 40 satellites due to such a storm.

The typical 11-minute flight carried the crew members far above the Karman line — an internationally recognised boundary of space that lies 62 miles (100 km) above the Earth’s surface.

The company stated that each astronaut on board NS-20 will carry a postcard to space on behalf of Blue Origin’s foundation Club for the Future, whose Postcards to Space programme gives students access to space on its rockets.

The Club’s mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM for the benefit of Earth.

Blue Origin’s third flight to suborbital space took place in December, last year. It was the first to carry six astronauts to space, as the last two missions carried only four.

The company blasted off its first human flight on July 20, while the second flight to space occurred on October 13 last year.

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