Blue Origin will send another six people into space on Thursday (August 29), and you can follow the action live online.
Blue Origin is currently planning to send six space tourists into suborbital space on board the company’s New Shepard booster and RSS First Step capsule on Thursday. The launch is scheduled for 9 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. CDT; 1:30 p.m. GMT) from the company’s spaceport in West Texas.
The mission, designated NS-26, will be Blue Origin’s second crewed space mission since an anomaly two years ago. The company hadn’t conducted crewed spaceflights for nearly two years after an uncrewed New Shepard launch failed in September 2022. Following the successful launch of the uncrewed science flight NS-24 in December 2023, crewed launches resumed with flight NS-25 in May 2024. Read on for details on NS-26, including launch time, who’s flying, and how to follow the flight.
When is the Blue Origin NS-26 astronaut launch?
Blue Origin plans to send six people into space 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) on Thursday. It will fly into space from the company’s Launch Site One in West Texas, near the city of Van Horn. In Texas, the local time is 8 a.m.
Launches are always subject to change due to technical or weather conditions, so don’t be surprised if NS-26 doesn’t lift off on time at 9 a.m. EDT. Blue Origin will likely release mission updates. about X.
Can I watch the launch of Blue Origins NS-26 online?
Yes, Blue Origin’s NS-26 launch will be available online. Blue Origin will broadcast a live webcast on its NS-26 mission page and the company’s YouTube channel. Blue Origin has announced that the webcast will begin approximately 40 minutes before launch.
With a nominal start time of 9 a.m. EDT, the webcast would begin at approximately 8:20 a.m. EDT (1220 GMT/7:20 a.m. CDT)The webcast will also be available at the top of this page and as a simulcast on Space.com.
Who is flying on Blue Origin’s NS-26 mission?
Joining Blue Origin’s NS-26 mission are philanthropist and entrepreneur Nicolina Elrick, university professor Rob Ferl, businessman Eugene Grin, cardiologist Eiman Jahangir, college student Karsen Kitchen and entrepreneur Ephraim Rabin. Aside from Ferl and Jahangir, most of the crew paid for their own seats.
Ferl’s funding came from two NASA sources: a TechFlights grant from the agency’s Flight Opportunities program and NASA’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences.
Jahangir’s seat was sponsored by MoonDAO, a “decentralized” blockchain, or cryptocurrency, company. (Note that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has warned that cryptocurrencies can be linked to Ponzi schemes.) Jahangir is also an “overview ambassador” for Spaceflight for Humanity, but a recent X-post did not specify whether that nonprofit will support him financially.
All six NS-26 tourists will fly into space in reclining seats aboard New Shepard. The capsule will separate from the launch vehicle shortly after liftoff. The rocket will then return to a landing zone near the launch site for a vertical landing. After that, it will be prepared for future missions.
In the meantime, the capsule carrying the tourists will fly into suborbital space and parachute back to Earth in the desert of West Texas. NS-26 passengers can look forward to some moments of weightlessness and the opportunity to see Earth through large windows on the New Shepard spacecraft.
What happens if Blue Origin’s NS-26 mission cannot launch on time?
Blue Origin expects to launch NS-26 at 9 a.m. EDT on Thursday, but if a technical problem arises or the weather doesn’t cooperate, the mission could be delayed. Delays could continue for a few hours after launch, but an abort would mean the mission won’t launch until the next day.
The first opportunity for a restart after the main launch target of the NS-26 on Thursday would probably be on Friday (30 August) at 9 a.m. EDT. However, Blue Origin has not yet said what alternate dates are available.
NS-26 is, as the name suggests, New Shepard’s 26th launch overall. It is the company’s eighth passenger launch since Blue Origin began flying astronauts in July 2021.
