Blue Origin NS-19 was a crewed New Shepard sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin that launched on 11 December 2021.[1] The flight was scheduled to launch on 9 December 2021,[2] later delayed to 11 December 2021.[3]
| Mission type | Crewed sub-orbital spaceflight |
|---|---|
| Operator | Blue Origin |
| Mission duration | 10 minutes, 13 seconds |
| Apogee | 107 km (66 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | RSS First Step |
| Manufacturer | Blue Origin |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 6 |
| Members |
|
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 11 December 2021, 15:00:42 UTC |
| Rocket | New Shepard (NS4) |
| Launch site | Corn Ranch, LS-1 |
| Contractor | Blue Origin |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 11 December 2021, 15:10:55 UTC |
| Landing site | Corn Ranch |
 Blue Origin NS-19 mission patch | |
The mission patch of the flight also featured the initials of Glen de Vries who died in a plane crash a month after flying on Blue Origin's previous crewed flight NS-18.[4] The NS-19 crew were the final recipients of the FAA Commercial Space Astronaut Wings,[5] an aviator wings-like badge created by the Federal Aviation Administration to encourage and draw attention to commercial space flight.
Crew
editThe NS-19 crew was nicknamed the "Original Six".[6]
The crew of six included Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of the first U.S. astronaut in space, as well the namesake for the New Shepard spaceflight program, Alan Shepard, and Michael Strahan, a Hall of Fame former New York Giants defensive end, as well as a co-anchor of Good Morning America and analyst for Fox NFL Sunday; both as guests of Blue Origin. Paying passengers included executive Dylan Taylor, investor Evan Dick, Bess Ventures founder Lane Bess and his child, Cameron. The latter became the first parent and child on the same spaceflight.[2][7] Cameron Bess became the youngest American at age 23 (Until Karsen Kitchen on NS-26 at age 21 on August 29, 2024.) first to go with a parent, first openly furry, and first openly pansexual[8] to fly to space.[9]
| Position | Crew | |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist |  Laura Shepard ChurchleyFirst spaceflight | |
| Tourist | Michael Strahan First spaceflight | |
| Tourist | Dylan Taylor First spaceflight | |
| Tourist | Evan Dick First spaceflight | |
| Tourist | Lane Bess First spaceflight | |
| Tourist | Cameron Bess First spaceflight | |
References
edit
- ^ Holpuch, Amanda (23 November 2021). "Michael Strahan to Join Next Blue Origin Space Flight". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ a b Harwood, William (28 November 2021). "Astronaut Alan Shepard's daughter and Michael Strahan named to spaceflight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ Howell, Elizabeth (9 December 2021). "Blue Origin's New Shepard launch with GMA anchor Michael Strahan: When to watch and what to know". Space.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ "Blue Origin to launch NS-19 with full passenger complement". NASASpaceFlight.com. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ https://www.faa.gov/space/human_spaceflight/recognition
- ^ Blue Origin (11 December 2021). Replay: New Shepard Mission NS-19 Webcast. Retrieved 8 August 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Pearlman, Robert Z. (23 November 2021). "Blue Origin to fly 1st astronaut's daughter, GMA host Michael Strahan on New Shepard spaceflight". Space.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ "Twitch". Twitch. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "The first ever furry is about to go into space". The Independent. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.