Blue Origin NS-21

Blue Origin NS-21 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission, operated by Blue Origin, which launched on 4 June 2022 using the New Shepard rocket.^[2] It was Blue Origin's fifth crewed flight, and twenty-first overall to reach space.^[3]

Blue Origin NS-21

Mission type	Crewed sub-orbital spaceflight
Mission duration	10 minutes, 5 seconds
Apogee	107 km (66 mi)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	RSS First Step
Manufacturer	Blue Origin
Crew
Crew size	6
Members	Evan Dick Katya Echazarreta Hamish Harding Victor Correa Hespanha Jaison Robinson Victor Vescovo
Start of mission
Launch date	4 June 2022 13:25:02 UTC[1]
Rocket	New Shepard (NS4)
Launch site	Corn Ranch, LS-1
Contractor	Blue Origin
End of mission
Landing date	4 June 2022 13:35:07 UTC[1]
Landing site	Corn Ranch
Blue Origin NS-21 mission patch New Shepard crewed flights ← Blue Origin NS-20 Blue Origin NS-22 → New Shepard flights ← Blue Origin NS-20 Blue Origin NS-22 →

The mission was originally scheduled to launch on 20 May 2022. However, the flight was delayed due to a back-up system not meeting the "expectations for performance,"^[4] and the new 4 June launch date was announced on 31 May 2022.^[5]

Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke was a guest of Blue Origin attending the launch.

Crew

The NS-21 crew was nicknamed the "Crew of Natural Selection".^[6]

The crew of six included Evan Dick, who previously flew on Blue Origin NS-19, making him the first person to fly on New Shepard twice. Also on board were Katya Echazarreta, who became the first Mexican-born woman and youngest American woman to fly to space, and Victor Vescovo, a notable undersea explorer.^[7] The flight made Vescovo the first person to complete the Explorers' Extreme Trifecta, which requires travelling to the bottom of the Challenger Deep and the summit of Mount Everest and flying to space.^[8]

Echazarreta's seat was sponsored by the Space For Humanity initiative, and paid for by Blue Origin and NS-19 passengers Lane and Cameron Bess. She is a post-graduate student at Johns Hopkins University who has done work on the Mars 2020 and Europa Clipper missions.^[9]

Victor Correa Hespanha was the second Brazilian in space. He was selected to fly after buying an NFT for R$4,000 (US$742.12) from the Crypto Space Agency, which entered him into a raffle for the trip.^[10][11] He has been called the "world's first cryptonaut."^[12]

Prime crew

Position	Crew
Tourist	Evan Dick Second spaceflight
Tourist	/ Katya Echazarreta First spaceflight
Tourist	Hamish Harding Only spaceflight
Tourist	Victor Correa Hespanha First spaceflight
Tourist	Jaison Robinson First spaceflight
Tourist	Victor Vescovo First spaceflight

References

1. @blueorigin (4 June 2022). "Official launch time was 8:25:02 AM CDT / 13:25:02 UTC. Capsule landing occurred at 8:35:07 AM CDT / 13:35:07 UTC" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 June 2022 – via Twitter.
2. Clark, Stephen (4 June 2022). "Blue Origin launches six people to suborbital space". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
3. Dahm, Daniel (9 May 2022). "Here's who's headed to space on next Blue Origin rocket launch". WKMG. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
4. @blueorigin (18 May 2022). "During our final vehicle check-outs, we observed one of New Shepard's back-up systems was not meeting our expectations for performance. In an abundance of caution, we will be delaying the #NS21 launch originally scheduled for Friday. Stay tuned for further updates" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022 – via Twitter.
5. "Blue Origin targets June 4 for next space tourist mission after delay". Space.com. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
6. Replay: New Shepard Mission NS-21 Webcast, 4 June 2022, retrieved 8 August 2022
7. "New Shepard Mission NS-21 to Fly Six Customer Astronauts, Including First Mexican-Born Woman to Visit Space" (Press release). Blue Origin. 9 May 2022. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2022 – via SpaceRef.
8. "First person to complete the "Explorers' Extreme Trifecta" (male)". Guinness World Records. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
9. "Introducing S4H's First Citizen Astronaut: Katya Echazarreta". Retrieved 9 May 2022.
10. "Conheça o brasileiro que ganhou sorteio para ir ao espaço: 'Não é só para bilionários'" [Meet the Brazilian who won a draw to go to space: 'It's not just for billionaires'] (in Brazilian Portuguese). 9 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
11. "The Crypto Space Agency". www.csa.xyz. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
12. "Blue Origin gains a repeat passenger, 'Crypto Space Agency' buys a seat to space on company's 5th crewed spaceflight". 9 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.

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