American billionaire Jeff Bezos' space tourism company Blue Origin has completed its 10th flight carrying people into space.
The New Shepard NS-30 spacecraft was launched from Launch Pad 1 in West Texas at 9:50 a.m. on February 25 (Central Time). After a short flight, the spacecraft landed safely at around 10 a.m. the same day. According to Blue Origin, the flight crew consisted of 6 people.
This is Blue Origin's 10th passenger space flight. To date, New Shepard spacecraft have carried 52 people into space.
Blue Origin’s passenger spaceflight service was disrupted for two years after an incident in August 2022, when a New Shepard spacecraft suddenly exploded. Fortunately, the rescue system was activated in time, activating emergency thrusters to separate from the spacecraft and then landing safely.
The New Shephard spacecraft is a small, reusable rocket system that serves as a stepping stone for Blue Origin's aspirations to explore deeper space, including developing heavy-lift rockets and lunar landers.