Blue Origin to resume space flights on Sunday, near Van Horn

Maria Cortes Gonzalez, El Paso Times
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Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin will resume flights to space on Sunday, May 19, ending a near two-year pause of crewed operations following a 2022 mission failure. It will be Blue Origin's seventh human flight.

The NS-25 mission will lift off from Launch Site One near Van Horn, with the launch window for the flight starting at 7:30 a.m. MT, the company said on Tuesday.

The New Shepard rocket, which flies cargo and humans on short trips to the edge of space, has been grounded since a September 2022 uncrewed mission failed roughly a minute after liftoff from Texas, forcing the rocket's capsule full of NASA experiments to safely eject mid-flight.

The upcoming NS-25 mission will have six crew members, including former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, the first Black astronaut candidate in the United States.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration closed its review of Blue Origin's New Shepard investigation last year, agreeing with the company's findings. It required Blue Origin to make 21 corrective actions, including an engine redesign and "organizational changes".

Who owns Blue Origin?

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at the Blue Origin Launch Site One near Van Horn, Texas, several years ago.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at the Blue Origin Launch Site One near Van Horn, Texas, several years ago.

Blue Origin is owned by Jeff Bezos, who founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994. He and his wife MacKenzie divorced in 2019 after 25 years of marriage and he transferred a quarter of his then-16% Amazon stake to her. He owns The Washington Post as well. He said in a November 2022 interview with CNN that he plans to give away the majority of his wealth in his lifetime, without sharing specific details.

Virgin Galactic to launch spaceflight in June

Virgin Galactic's Unity spaceship releases from the carrier aircraft, above, during an August 2023 spaceflight carrying its first paid tourists
Virgin Galactic's Unity spaceship releases from the carrier aircraft, above, during an August 2023 spaceflight carrying its first paid tourists

Virgin Galactic, the anchor of Spaceport America in southern New Mexico, recently announced it will launch its spaceflight, Galactic 07, on June 8. This will be the company’s second spaceflight this year and 12th to date.

Virgin Galactic’s spaceship will again be converted into a suborbital science lab, with VSS Unity carrying an Axiom Space affiliated researcher astronaut who will conduct multiple human-tended experiments, according to a Virgin Galactic release. In addition, Purdue University and UC Berkeley will have autonomous payloads on board, supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program.

“Discovery and innovation are central to our mission at Virgin Galactic. We’re excited to build on our successful record of facilitating scientific experiments in suborbital space, and we look forward to continuing to expand our role in suborbital research going forward,” said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic in the release.

“‘Galactic 07’ will also mark and celebrate VSS Unity's final commercial flight – an exciting and historic turning point for the business as we dedicate our resources fully to the production of our next-generation Delta spaceships, on track for commercial service in 2026.”

More: Virgin Galactic aims to launch new, $50M spaceships at Spaceport America in 2026

Source: USAToday.com; Reuters

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Blue Origin to resume space flights on Sunday, near Van Horn