Blue Origin has successfully launched the New Shepard suborbital manned rocket with a commercial crew. This was reported by Engadget.

This is the NS-25 tourist mission, in which the rocket was launched from the company’s site in western Texas in the United States. The launch took place on May 19 at 17:30 Kyiv time.

The mission consisted of 6 people: Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth Hess, Carol Schaller, Gopi Totakura, and 90-year-old Ed Dwight.

During the short flight to an altitude of about 105 km, the passengers were able to briefly unfasten their seat belts and feel weightlessness. The crew landed safely on Earth about 10 minutes after the launch.

One of the three parachutes of the Blue Origin capsule did not open properly on the way back, but this did not create any problems for its landing.

The last time New Shepard flew with a crew was in August 2022, but the launch of NS-23 with cargo in September of the same year ended in an accident. An investigation was conducted after the incident.

Finally, last December, Blue Origin successfully launched its New Shepard suborbital manned rocket. The company sent 33 scientific and research cargoes into space, as well as 38 thousand Club for the Future postcards.

The current mission was Blue Origin’s first flight with a crew in almost two years.