As part of the NS-18 mission, Blue Origin conducted the second launch of the New Shepard spacecraft with people on board. The 90-year-old Canadian actor William Shatner takes part in the mission. The other three tourists are Audrey Powers, Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries.
The ship was launched from the Corn Ranch spaceport in Texas. Blue Origin sent four tourists on a flight, including 90-year-old actor William Shatner, known for the sci-fi universe of Star Trek.
Thus, he claims to be the oldest person who has ever been in space. Recently, the record belonged to 82-year-old Wally Funk, who became a participant in the first flight of New Shepard with the crew. That launch was carried out on July 20. He (as, however, almost all New Shepard launches) was successful. Between the first two manned flights, one unmanned flight was conducted on August 25.
William Shatner and Audrey Powers
Image Source: Blue Origin
In addition to Shatner, Blue Origin Vice President for Missions and Flights Audrey Powers, ex-NASA engineer Chris Boshuizen, and Dassault Systems employee Glen de Vries are on board the ship. According to the plan, they should climb to a height of about 105 kilometers, and then return to earth.
Chris Boshuizen (left) and Glen de Vries (right)
Image source: blueorigin
New Shepard is a manned capsule that is launched vertically using a rocket equipped with a single BE-3 engine. It runs on hydrogen (fuel) and oxygen (oxidizer). The capsule with tourists separates from it at an altitude of about 40 kilometers, then the rocket returns to earth and sits down with the help of an engine.
New Shepard
Image Source: Blue Origin
The capsule itself, after separation, rises by inertia to a height of more than 100 kilometers, which is conventionally taken as the boundary between the atmosphere and space. In other words, tourists can claim the title of astronauts.
New Shepard has a spacious and stylish interior. In case of unforeseen situations, an emergency rescue system is provided. The capsule lands using a parachute system.
Success will consolidate Blue Origin's position in the field of space tourism. Meanwhile, the company faces a tough competition with Virgin Galactic. Recall that in July, a suborbital flight of its VSS Unity spacecraft took place: among the six passengers was the head of the company, Richard Branson.
The concept of Virgin Galactic is different from the one chosen by Blue Origin. The flight is an ascent to about a 20-kilometer mark, where the SpaceShipTwo-type spacecraft is undocked from the booster aircraft. The ship can reach a height of more than 100 kilometers. In addition to space tourism, they want to use it to study the ionosphere.
