Blue Origin launches six people into space
VAN HORN, Texas (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Blue Origin successfully completed its 12th human spaceflight and the 32nd flight for the New Shepard program Saturday.
The launch vehicle, which included the Reusable Spaceship (RSS) First Step capsule and a propulsion module, lifted off from Blue Origin's launch site one near Van Horn, Texas just after 8:30 a.m. Central, about two and a half minutes into the flight the booster returned to Earth.
Meanwhile, the six-person crew continued to a maximum altitude of 340,290 feet, where they experienced weightlessness and an astronaut's-eye view of the planet.
The RSS First Step descended back to Earth for a soft touchdown about 10 minutes after the launch.
The six-person crew are as follows: Jaime Alemán, Jesse Williams, Paul Jeris, Gretchen Green, and Amy Medina Jorge.
New Shepard has now flown 64 people into space.
