NS-21 Mission Liftoff Planned for June 4

Blue Origin's NS-21 mission is scheduled to lift off from Launch Site One in Texas on Saturday, June 4. The launch window opens at 8:00 a.m. CDT / 13:00 UTC.

"I am honored to be representing not just Space for Humanity in this mission, but also all of the little girls and women out there who are dreaming of achieving something bigger."

Katya Echazarreta

The crew includes investor and NS-19 Astronaut Evan Dick; electrical engineer and former NASA test lead Katya Echazarreta; business jet pilot and Action Aviation Chairman Hamish Harding; civil production engineer Victor Correa Hespanha; adventurer and Dream Variation Ventures co-founder Jaison Robinson; and explorer and co-founder of private equity firm Insight Equity Victor Vescovo, Commander, USN (Ret.).

The NS-21 mission was originally scheduled to fly on May 20th. However, during final vehicle check-outs, one of New Shepard's back-up systems was not meeting expectations for performance, so the launch was delayed out of an abundance of caution.

Katya Echazarreta will become the first Mexican-born woman and youngest American woman to fly to space, and she will be flying as part of Space for Humanity’s sponsored Citizen Astronaut Program. "I am honored to be representing not just Space for Humanity in this mission, but also all of the little girls and women out there who are dreaming of achieving something bigger, those that maybe just need an extra nudge or an example of someone who looks or sounds like them to help encourage them to take the next step towards their dream," she said when her participation in the NS-21 mission was announced.

Victor Correa Hespanha will be the second Brazilian to fly to space.

Each astronaut on board NS-21 will carry a postcard to space on behalf of Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, whose Postcards to Space program gives students access to space on Blue Origin’s rockets. The Club’s mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM for the benefit of Earth.

This mission will be the fifth human flight for the New Shepard program and the 21st in its history.

(Source: Blue Origin news release and as cited. Image provided)