Blue Origin to resume space tourist flights after near 2-year pause

Crew members include former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, the first US Black astronaut candidate

Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin will resume flights to space on Sunday, ending a near two-year pause of crewed operations following a 2022 mission failure.

The NS-25 mission will lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas, with the launch window for the flight starting at 0830 CT (1330 GMT), the company said on Tuesday.

The New Shepard rocket, which flies cargo and humans on short trips to the edge of space, has been grounded since a September 2022 uncrewed mission failed roughly a minute after liftoff from Texas, forcing the rocket’s capsule full of NASA experiments to safely eject mid-flight.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration closed its review of Blue Origin’s New Shepard investigation last year, agreeing with the company’s findings. It required Blue Origin to make 21 corrective actions, including an engine redesign and “organizational changes”.

The upcoming NS-25 mission will have six crew members, including former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, the first Black astronaut candidate in the United States. Ed will be flying to space this Sunday, May 19th, 2024. Space for Humanity has sponsored Ed Dwight’s upcoming mission on board Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

A subject of the recent documentary, “The Space Race,” Ed was selected by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as the United State’s first Black astronaut candidate but was never granted the opportunity to fly to space. Now, at 90-years young, Ed Dwight will finally travel to space.

Space for Humanity Vision Circle member, Mason Angel, is also among Ed’s crew. Together, they’ll have the chance to experience the transformative power of the Overview Effect and inspire the next generation of Citizen Astronauts.

Space for Humanity is a globally recognized, nonprofit organization that is increasing access to space for all the world’s citizens and changing humanity’s perspective on our place in the cosmos. Space for Humanity operates a Citizen Astronaut Program that sends thoughtfully selected, impact-driven individuals from any walk of life to space to experience the “Overview Effect,” a cognitive shift brought on by viewing the Earth from space.

Space for Humanity provides its Citizen Astronauts specialized training so that upon their return to Earth they can serve as leaders and global ambassadors, inspiring a better, brighter tomorrow for all. (Reuters/PRNewswire)