Six New Astronauts Minted by Blue Origin
Completes 25th Flight to Space
Blue Origin has successfully completed its seventh human spaceflight and the 25th flight for the New Shepard program. The astronaut crew included: Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, Gopi Thotakura, and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, who was selected by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as the nation’s first Black astronaut candidate but never had the opportunity to fly.
“Each of you are pioneers helping to advance our mission to build a road to space for the benefit of Earth.”
Phil Joyce, Blue Origin
New Shepard has now flown 37 people into space, including this crew.
“A big thank you to our astronaut customers for the opportunity to provide this life-changing experience,” said Phil Joyce, Senior Vice President, New Shepard. “Each of you are pioneers helping to advance our mission to build a road to space for the benefit of Earth.”
This was the first Blue Origin crewed mission in nearly two years following an anomaly with a New Shepard booster in August 2022.
The launch took place at 9:36 am CDT, 66 minutes after the opening of the launch window. During the return to Earth, one of the parachutes failed to fully deploy, but the system is designed to land safely with only two functioning parachutes.