Blue Origin launches six space tourists after last-minute crew swap

Blue Origin's New Shepard mission NS-38 carried six people above the Kármán Line on Jan. 22 after a late crew change, and the capsule and rocket returned safely to West Texas.

Blue Origin launched its New Shepard vehicle from West Texas on Jan. 22, sending six people on a short suborbital trip. The flight, designated NS-38, was briefly delayed by reports of unauthorized personnel on the range. A late crew change occurred when Laura Stiles replaced Andrew Yaffe after he fell ill; Blue Origin said Yaffe will fly on a future New Shepard mission. The capsule crossed the widely used Kármán Line and then descended back to Earth for a soft landing. Flight details: - Liftoff occurred at 11:25 a.m. EST from Blue Origin's West Texas site; the rocket made a powered touchdown at about T+7:20 and the capsule landed roughly three minutes later under parachutes. - The six passengers were Tim Drexler, Linda Edwards, Alain Fernandez, Alberto Gutiérrez, Jim Hendren, and Laura Stiles (a late replacement). - Telemetry showed the capsule reached nearly 350,000 feet (about 106,680 meters), above the 62-mile (100 km) Kármán Line commonly used to mark the start of space. - NS-38 was Blue Origin's 17th human spaceflight and the 38th New Shepard mission; the company has now flown 98 people across its human flights, representing 92 different individuals. - Blue Origin has not disclosed ticket prices; for context the article notes Virgin Galactic charges about $600,000 per seat. Summary: The flight added six more people to Blue Origin's cumulative total of space fliers and continued the company's series of brief suborbital missions. Blue Origin said the crew change was due to one passenger's illness and that he will fly on a future New Shepard mission; no further operational steps were specified in the report.