Blue Origin Successfully Completes NS-25 Mission to Space

Ibadan, 20 May 2024. – Blue Origin has completed its seventh human spaceflight, launching its NS-25 Crew from Launch Site One in West Texas. The mission capsule reached a maximum altitude of around 105 km where the Astronauts got to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and the Earth’s curvature. The launch also marked Blue Origin’s first space launch since August 2022.

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.

President John F. Kennedy chose Ed Dwight to enter training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), an elite U.S. Air Force flight training program. The U.S. Air Force for the NASA Astronaut Corps subsequently recommended Dwight after completing the program, but ultimately he didn’t make the final selection. Space for Humanity sponsored his seat on the Blue Origin flight, with support from the Jaison and Jamie Robinson Foundation.

Each astronaut carried a postcard to space on behalf of Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future. The program gives students access to space on Blue Origin’s rockets, including an all-digital method to create and send postcards. The Club’s mission is to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue careers in STEAM for the benefit of Earth.

Blue Origin had grounded the rocket for over a year, investigating the Rocket’s September 2022 incident where the first stage booster exploded. The Company eventually traced the anomaly to a thermo-structural failure in the rocket’s single-engine nozzle. After the investigation, New Shepard successfully launched on an uncrewed flight before launching the NS-25 crew on Sunday.