Overview
- Blue Origin confirmed the NS-38 flight launched from Launch Site One in West Texas and returned safely after roughly 11 minutes.
- Laura Stiles, the company’s director of New Shepard launch operations, filled in for Andrew Yaffe after he withdrew due to illness.
- The reusable booster executed a precision vertical landing, and the crew capsule touched down under parachutes following minutes of weightlessness.
- The flight marked the New Shepard program’s 38th overall launch and 17th human mission, and it was streamed live by the company.
- Alongside six passengers, the capsule carried small research payloads; Blue Origin does not list ticket prices publicly, but reservations require a $150,000 deposit and past sales and reports indicate costs in the hundreds of thousands to millions.