posted 03-14-2022 08:42 AM               

New Shepard Mission NS-20

Saturday Night Live Star Pete Davidson to Fly on Blue Origin's 20th Mission Alongside Five Customers

Blue Origin today (March 14) announced the crew flying on its upcoming NS-20 flight on March 23 will include Marty Allen, Pete Davidson, husband and wife duo Sharon and Marc Hagle, Jim Kitchen, and Dr. George Nield.

This mission is the fourth human flight for the New Shepard program and the 20th in its history.

Live launch coverage begins on BlueOrigin.com at T-60 minutes. Liftoff is currently targeted for 8:30 a.m. CDT / 13:30 UTC from Launch Site One in West Texas.

Each astronaut on board NS-20 will carry a postcard to space on behalf of Blue Origin's foundation, Club for the Future, whose Postcards to Space program gives students access to space on Blue Origin's rockets. The Club's mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM for the benefit of Earth.

Meet the crew:

• Marty Allen is a turnaround CEO and angel investor. During his tenure as CEO of Party America, he transformed the company from a broken California retail chain into a large nationwide retailer, leading the company through a bankruptcy restructuring and the acquisition of several competitors. He is also the former CEO of California Closet Company, leading the company to record sales and profitability. Marty also mentors CEOs through his board activities.

• Pete Davidson joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2014. In 2020, he co-wrote and starred in the semi-autobiographical film The King of Staten Island, which also earned a nomination for The Comedy Movie Star of 2020 at the 46th People's Choice Awards. Pete also appeared in the 2021 film The Suicide Squad directed by James Gunn.

• Sharon Hagle founded SpaceKids Global in 2015, a nonprofit whose mission is to inspire students to excel in STEAM+ education with a focus on empowering young girls. SpaceKids hosts several annual challenges designed to inspire kids to pursue careers in the space industry, including national essay competitions and a partnership with the Girl Scouts of Citrus County. SpaceKids also participates in Club for the Future's Postcards to Space program. To date, Sharon has reached nearly 100,000 students globally.

• Marc Hagle is president and CEO of Tricor International, a residential and commercial property development corporation. Under his direction, the company has developed and owned more than 17.4 million square feet of properties across the United States, including shopping centers, warehouses, medical facilities, recreational facilities, drug stores, and office projects. Marc and his wife, Sharon, are avid philanthropists for numerous arts, sciences, health, and education-related charities.

• Jim Kitchen is a teacher, entrepreneur, and world explorer who has visited all 193 U.N.-recognized countries. He's been a space dreamer since watching NASA's Apollo rocket launches in Florida as a child. As a college student in the 1980s, he promoted low Earth orbit space trips for a startup. Since 2010, Jim has served on the faculty of University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, teaching students to create world-changing for-profit and nonprofit ventures.

• Dr. George Nield is the president of Commercial Space Technologies, LLC, which he founded to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space activities. He previously served as associate administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation and was responsible for licensing and regulating all commercial launch activities. Earlier in his career, he held engineering roles at the Air Force Flight Test Center and the Orbital Sciences Corporation, and he was an assistant professor and research director at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Dr. Nield also served as the manager of the Flight Integration Office for NASA's Space Shuttle Program.

posted 03-17-2022 10:38 PM               

NS-20 Flight Update

Blue Origin's 20th flight of New Shepard has shifted to Tuesday, March 29. Pete Davidson is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission. We will announce the sixth crew member in the coming days.

posted 03-21-2022 10:39 AM               

New Shepard Architect Gary Lai Joins NS-20 Crew

Blue Origin today announced the sixth crew member joining New Shepard's 20th mission will be Blue Origin's Gary Lai, New Shepard Chief Architect. Gary joins the previously announced crew, which includes Marty Allen, husband and wife duo Sharon and Marc Hagle, Jim Kitchen, and Dr. George Nield.

Gary is best known as the architect of the New Shepard system, including leading the team responsible for the design and development of many of the key safety systems on the Crew Capsule. He joined Blue Origin in 2004 and was among the first 20 employees.

He is currently Senior Director and Chief Architect of New Shepard, responsible for all next generation designs, upgrades, and new product development for the New Shepard business. His prior positions include Senior Director of Design Engineering, System Architect, Crew Capsule Element Lead, NASA Commercial Crew Development Program Manager, Lead Systems Engineer, and Pathfinding Lead with responsibility for advanced research and development. Gary has been involved in product development, strategic planning, and business development for all Blue Origin product lines, including the New Glenn orbital launch vehicle, rocket engine programs, and Blue Moon.

During the time Gary led the New Shepard technical team as System Architect in 2016, the program won the prestigious Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association "for successfully demonstrating rocket booster reusability with the New Shepard human spaceflight vehicle through five successful test flights of a single booster and engine, all of which performed powered vertical landings on Earth." Gary was the 2019 recipient of the Blue Origin Founder's Award for his technical ambition and achievement.

Gary graduated from Cornell University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics and Business Management. He was a student of Carl Sagan at Cornell. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Washington. Gary holds several New Shepard patents and serves on the Visiting Committee of the University of Washington College of Engineering, William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He holds three patents in space system technology.

posted 03-28-2022 03:05 PM               

NS-20 mission update

Due to forecasted high winds during launch and recovery operations on Tuesday, March 29, and Wednesday, March 30, the New Shepard Mission Operations team has made the decision to move the launch of NS-20 to Thursday, March 31.

The team has completed Flight Readiness Review and confirmed the vehicle has met all mission requirements for flight. Astronauts are completing their training, and weather remains the only gating factor.

Live launch coverage of NS-20 begins on BlueOrigin.com at 7:20 am CDT / 12:20 UTC.

posted 03-31-2022 11:27 AM               

Blue Origin Successfully Completes Fourth Human Spaceflight

Today (March 31), Blue Origin successfully completed its fourth human spaceflight and 20th overall flight for New Shepard. The astronaut manifest included: Marty Allen, Sharon Hagle, Marc Hagle, Jim Kitchen, Gary Lai, and Dr. George Nield.

"Congratulations to our astronauts on today's mission above the Kármán Line," said Phil Joyce, Senior Vice President of New Shepard for Blue Origin. "We had the honor of safely flying this crew of six – each person with their own story of mentorship and passion for human spaceflight. We're looking forward to many more flights this year, and we're grateful to our astronaut customers for their trust in this amazing team."

Key stats from today's NS-20 flight to space and back:

• The crew capsule reached an apogee of 347,629 ft AGL / 351,276 ft MSL (106 km AGL / 107 km MSL).

• The booster reached an apogee of 347,285 ft AGL / 350,932 ft MSL (106 km AGL / 107 km MSL).

• Official launch time was 8:57:55 am CDT / 13:57:55 UTC.

• Capsule landing occurred at 9:07:59 am CDT / 14:07:59 UTC.

• The mission elapsed time was 10 minutes, 4 seconds; the max ascent velocity was 2,236 mph / 3,599 km/h.

• 21st consecutive successful crew capsule landing (every flight in the program, including a pad escape test in 2012).