Jeff Bezos Space Company Blue Origin launched a six person
crew to the edge of space on Sunday, resuming
its space tourism business for the first time since its
new Shepherd suborbital rocket was grounded in 2022. The
crew included Ed Dwight, the US S first black
astronaut candidate in the 19 sixties but who until now
had never flown to space. He also became the
oldest person in space at 90 years old in eight
months. Surpassing actor William Shatner who was 90 years
old in six months. At the time of his
Blue Origin flight, the crew were launched in a
gumdrop shaped capsule atop a rocket from the Blue Origin
facilities near Van Horn, Texas. The rocket separated
from the capsule which then ascended more than 65 miles
beyond the boundary of earth's atmosphere. It returned to
earth under parachutes capping a mission lasting roughly 10 minutes
. One of the capsule's three parachutes did not fully
inflate a hitch that may draw scrutiny before the next
mission. The grounding of New Shepherd Blue Origin's only
active rocket came after a mid flight failure in September
2022 during an un crude research mission. After implementing
changes mandated by the US Federal Aviation Administration, the
new Shepherd returned to flight in December 2023 with an
un crewed mission. The FAA did not immediately respond
to questions about the new shepherd capsule's parachute and whether
the agency would investigate a blue origin spokesperson said the
crew capsule is designed to safely land with one parachute
and called the mission an overall success.