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Blue Origin

What You Need to Know About Blue Origin’s Launch into Space with Billionaire Jeff Bezos

The countdown has begun for Blue Origin’s first crewed spaceflight. On Tuesday, July 20, 2021, at 9:00A ET, Jeff Bezos and three crewmates are lifting off into space from Blue Origin’s Launch Site near Van Horn, Texas. Watch SPACE LAUNCH LIVE: BLUE ORIGIN & JEFF BEZOS GO TO SPACE on Discovery and Science Channels at 8:00A ET or at washingtonpost.com.

July 19, 2021

The Shepard rocket and capsule will carry four passengers to space and then back to Earth within 11 minutes. It's an automated system which means there will not be a pilot on board. The crew includes Jeff Bezos (the founder of Blue Origin), Mark Bezos (Jeff Bezos’ brother), Mary Wallace “Wally” Funk (a pioneering aviator that trained as one of 13 women associated with the Mercury program), and Oliver Daemon (a college student). After this spaceflight, Funk will be known as the oldest person to have flown in space and Daemon as the youngest.

New Shepard stands at 60 feet tall equipped with fins for aerodynamic stabilization. When it comes time to board the spacecraft on Earth, the crew will need to climb a launch tower in order to reach their seats. Then they will be sitting in a reclined position for over an hour before liftoff.

The space vehicle is set to fly just above the Kármán line, which outlines the edge of space. The astronauts will experience roughly three minutes of weightlessness and out of this world views before parachuting down to Earth in their crew capsule. The rocket will return autonomously and land at the launch site.

This will be the 16th flight for New Shepard, but the first with humans aboard. It is named after the first American to travel to space and Mercury astronaut, Alan Shepard.

The day of the scheduled launch, July 20, holds significance in space history; on this date in 1969, Neil Armstrong first stepped foot onto the lunar surface.

Blue Origin & Jeff Bezos Go To Space

Watch SPACE LAUNCH LIVE on Discovery and Science Channels at 8:00am ET or at washingtonpost.com. That night at 10P ET/PT, Discovery will air a 1 hour special, JEFF BEZOS IN SPACE: BLUE ORIGIN TAKES FLIGHT, highlighting the morning’s event, along with interviews from after the launch, behind-the-scenes material, and background stories of Blue Origins and Jeff Bezos.

Follow Discovery on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter for the latest updates and join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #SpaceLaunchLive.

Next Up

Countdown to Launch: NASA and SpaceX Crew-2 Mission

Liftoff set for Friday, April 23, at 5:49A EDT marks the second operational flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Four space explorers are heading to the International Space Station for a six-month stay. It will take them 23 hours to reach their destination.

Liftoff of NASA and SpaceX Crew-2!

The NASA and SpaceX Crew-2 mission launched on Friday, April 23 at 5:49A ET from the NASA Launch Complex 39A. This historic milestone marks the second operational mission of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Onboard was NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. After a 23-hour journey, Crew-2 successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on April 24 at 5:08A ET. Here's everything that happened from launch day to the Crew-2's arrival at the ISS. (Updated April 24, 2021)

William Shatner Becomes Oldest Man to Travel to Space After Successful Blue Origin Space Flight

On the morning of October 13, William Shatner joined the crew of New Shepard for its second crewed flight, NS-18. Due to a few holds, the scheduled 10A liftoff was delayed by about 50 minutes from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in Texas. Despite the delays, liftoff and touchdown went off without a hitch, making Star Trek star William Shatner the oldest man to go to space.

William Shatner is going where no 90-year-old has gone before

The Star Trek star will become the oldest person to go to space when he launches aboard a Blue Origin rocket on Wednesday, October 13. Watch live coverage on Space Launch LIVE: Shatner in Space on Discovery and Science Channel starting at 8:30A ET with liftoff scheduled for 10A ET.

The James Webb Space Telescope Launches!

Finally! It was initially proposed way back in 1998 and named the James Webb Space Telescope in 2002. After a decade of delays and over 10 billion dollars past its original budget, NASA’s next great observatory finally launched from the European Space Agency’s Guiana Space Centre in South America.

25 Years In the Making, the James Webb Telescope Is Coming to Science Channel

The world’s most powerful observatory - the James Webb Space Telescope – is set for launch later this month after more than 25 years of development and construction. Science Channel, the leader of all things space, will take viewers inside this incredible feat of technology and its launch with two specials airing Tuesday, December 21 at 10 PM ET/PT with a Post-Launch Special to air Sunday, December 26 at 10 PM ET/PT.

SNL’s Pete Davidson No Longer Flying to Space on Blue Origin’s 4th Human Flight

Along with 5 paying customers, it was announced that Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson was joining the crew Blue Origin’s NS-20 Mission on Wednesday, March 23rd. As of last night, Blue Origin announced the date of the flight has moved to Tuesday March 29 and "Pete Davidson is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission."(This article was updated March 18)

SpaceX Crew-3 Launch for NASA to Blast Off Wednesday

After the NASA/SpaceX launch experienced a series of delays, Crew-3 is set to lift off no earlier than 9:03 P ET from NASA's Kennedy Space Center tomorrow!Watch SPACE LAUNCH LIVE: CREW-3 LIFT OFF on Science Channel at 8 P ET Wednesday, November 10.

Axiom Lifts Off with the First Fully Private Crewed Mission to Space

Axiom Mission 1 blasted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center today, setting the standard for commercial space travel with a first-of-its-kind mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

3 Awesome Launches to Look Forward to This Year

2021 was a pretty exciting year for spaceflight. We had a bunch of private rocket launches and the initiation of a new era in space tourism. We had the launch of DART, a mission where NASA will use a spacecraft to punch an asteroid in the face. And at the last moment, we had liftoff for the much-delayed and long-awaited James Webb Space Telescope.

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