Blue Origin NS-26 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission, operated by Blue Origin, launched on August 29, 2024, using the New Shepard rocket.[2][3][4][1]
| Mission type | Crewed sub-orbital spaceflight |
|---|---|
| Mission duration | 10 minutes, 8 seconds |
| Apogee | 105.3 km (65.4 mi)[1] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | RSS First Step |
| Manufacturer | Blue Origin |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 6 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 29 August 2024, 13:07:03 UTC |
| Rocket | New Shepard (NS4) |
| Launch site | Corn Ranch, LS-1 |
| Contractor | Blue Origin |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 29 August 2024, 13:17:11 UTC |
| Landing site | Corn Ranch |
Crew
edit| Position | Crew | |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist |   Nicolina ElrickFirst spaceflight | |
| Scientist |  Rob FerlFirst spaceflight | |
| Tourist |  Eugene GrinFirst spaceflight | |
| Tourist |  Eiman JahangirFirst spaceflight | |
| Tourist | Karsen Kitchen First spaceflight | |
| Tourist |  Ephraim RabinFirst spaceflight | |
The flight's crew included NASA-funded scientist Rob Ferl who is a professor at the University of Florida. During the flight, he performed experiments studying the change of gene expression in one type of plant when the plant was exposed to microgravity and other different phases of flight. Professor Ferl was the first NASA-funded researcher flying aboard New Shepard (or indeed aboard any of the commercial suborbital space vehicles of the 21st century). His flight and experiments were funded by NASA's Flight Opportunities program.[1]
Eiman Jahangir's flight was sponsored by the cryptocurrency organization MoonDAO.[1]
Karsen Kitchen became the youngest woman to cross the Kármán line (100 km) at 21 years old.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Foust, Jeff (August 29, 2024). "Blue Origin flies NASA-funded scientist and space tourists on New Shepard suborbital flight". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "Blue Origin Announces Crew for New Shepard's 26th Mission". Blue Origin. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
- ^ Argueta, Brenda (2024-07-24). "Next crew announced for Blue Origin. Here's who's going to space". WKMG. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (2024-08-23). "Blue Origin sets date for next New Shepard flight after completing parachute investigation". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-08-24.