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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has hit a new milestone after sending six space tourists on a high-speed trip to the edge of space and back.
The aerospace company on Tuesday launched its tenth crewed flight as part of its New Shepard program, which has now launched 50 people beyond the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. As of its last mission, which occurred in November, 47 people had been flown into space by the company.
Tuesday’s flight, NS-30, is the 30th overall of the New Shepard, a vehicle consisting of a reusable booster and capsule. The rocket lifted off at around 10:50 a.m. ET from Corn Ranch, also known as Launch Site One, returning at 11:01 a.m. ET.
Six people were on the flight, including Tushar Shah, a partner at a New York-based hedge fund, media entrepreneur and physicist Elaine Chia Hyde, and Spanish television host Jesús Calleja. They were joined by Dr. Richard Scott, the CEO of the largest fertility care group in the world, and an unidentified sixth person who has the surname Wilson, according to the NS-30 mission patch.
After experiencing the brief journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere, Calleja was visibly moved. “It’s difficult for me now to explain,” he said after exiting the capsule, calling the experience marvelous and beautiful. “I miss my small dream. I cried.”
The crew also included Lane Bess, who joined the third crewed mission alongside former New York Giants player and media personality Michael Strahan. Bess, a venture capitalist and former CEO of Palo Alto Networks (PANW-0.42%), is one of just four astronauts who have flown with Blue Origin twice.
It’s not clear how much Blue Origin charges for seats on its flights, although not all past passengers have had to pay. Austin Litteral won his spot on New Shepard’s ninth crewed mission through a giveaway sponsored by Whatnot, a live-stream shopping platform.
Richard Branson’s rival, Virgin Galactic (SPCE-2.31%), sells tickets for about $600,000 per person, including an initial $150,000 payment. So-called space balloon companies, such as Space Perspective, charge around $150,000 per seat for trips that don’t reach the Kármán Line, according to Robb Report.
High prices are partially why passengers on such flights tend to be wealthy, influential, or both.
Many of Blue Origin’s customers have connections to the space industry — such as the daughter of Alan Shepard, who the New Shepard is named after, or aviation pioneer Wally Funk — or are current or former business executives. Bezos himself flew on his company’s first crewed mission alongside Funk, his brother Mark Bezos, and Oliver Daemen, the son of a private equity firm executive.
William Shatner, best known for his portrayal of Captain James Kirk in “Star Trek,” became the oldest person to fly into space at 90 years old, beating Funk’s own record. Daemen is the youngest.