posted 05-09-2022 10:44 AM               

Please use this topic to discuss Blue Origin's New Shepard 21 (NS-21) suborbital crewed mission and its crew, including: Evan Dick, Katya Echazarreta, Hamish Harding, Victor Correa Hespanha, Jaison Robinson and Victor Vescovo.

posted 05-09-2022 10:51 AM               

• Evan Dick is the first person to fly on New Shepard twice, having previously launched on NS-19.

• Katya Echazarreta will become the first Mexican-born woman and youngest American woman to fly to space. She is the first person to fly as part of Space for Humanity's sponsored Citizen Astronaut Program, which is led by Dylan Taylor, who flew on NS-19.

• Hamish Harding previously broke the Round-the-World record in a Gulfstream G650ER for any aircraft flying over the North and South poles, flying alongside former NASA astronaut Terry Virts. He also dove to Challenger Deep with fellow NS-21 crew member Victor Vescovo.

• Victor Correa Hespanha will be the second Brazilian to fly to space.

• Jaison Robinson was a contestant on the television reality show "Survivor" in 2009.

• Victor Vescovo was the first person to repeatedly dive to the deepest point in the ocean, Challenger Deep (now twelve times), including dives with former astronaut Kathy Sullivan and private astronaut Richard Garriott.

posted 05-18-2022 08:42 AM               

During our final vehicle check-outs, we observed one of New Shepard's back-up systems was not meeting our expectations for performance. In an abundance of caution, we will be delaying the NS-21 launch originally scheduled for Friday. Stay tuned for further updates.

posted 05-31-2022 01:09 PM               

Blue Origin today announced NS-21 will lift off from Launch Site One on Saturday, June 4. The launch window opens at 8:00 a.m. CDT / 13:00 UTC.

posted 06-04-2022 06:41 AM               

New Shepard's 21st mission will lift off from Launch Site One on Saturday, June 4.

posted 06-04-2022 09:28 AM               

Key stats from today's mission:

• The crew capsule reached an apogee of 347,538 ft AGL / 351,185 ft MSL (106 km AGL / 107 km MSL)

• The booster reached an apogee of 347,183 ft AGL / 350,830 ft MSL (106 km AGL / 107 km MSL)

• Official launch time was 8:25:02 AM CDT / 13:25:02 UTC. Capsule landing occurred at 8:35:07 AM CDT / 13:35:07 UTC.

• The mission elapsed time was 10 min 5.53 sec; the max ascent velocity was 2,240 mph / 3,604 km/h.

22nd consecutive successful crew capsule landing (every flight in the program, including a pad escape test in 2012); seventh consecutive booster landing for this vehicle.

posted 06-19-2023 02:37 PM               

The missing craft is believed to be OceanGate's Titan submersible, a truck-sized sub that holds five people and usually dives with a four-day supply of oxygen.

It is not known when contact with the craft was lost, but the vessel was reported overdue on Sunday evening about 435 miles (700km) south of St John's, Newfoundland.

Hamish Harding, a 59-year-old British billionaire businessman and explorer, is among those on the missing submarine, his family said.