Overview
- Six paying passengers completed an approximately 11-minute suborbital journey to about 100 km on June 29 after multiple high-wind and cloud-cover delays.
- Passengers included Allie and Carl Kuehner, a married conservationist–real estate executive duo, and Owolabi Salis, the first Nigerian-born person in space.
- New Shepard’s booster performed a powered vertical landing and the capsule touched down under parachutes within a few hundred meters, underscoring precise recovery operations.
- This flight was Blue Origin’s third crewed New Shepard mission since April and its 13th overall, reflecting a stepped-up cadence since resuming crewed launches in May 2024.
- Blue Origin’s high-frequency, fully reusable suborbital service is reinforcing its position alongside Virgin Galactic and SpaceX in the burgeoning space tourism market.