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Live Blog: Blue Origin launching second crew of four to space on New Shepard

Blue Origin is preparing to launch NS-18 from their West Texas facility with a crew of four on Wednesday. NS-18 will be the company’s second crewed flight, with the most notable member being William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk from Star Trek. The launch will be a short hop above 100 km to give the crew about 4 minutes of weightlessness. Check below for updates on the launch of NS-18.

Date: Wednesday, October 13 at 10:50 a.m. EDT

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[Update: New target] Blue Origin targeting next New Shepard mission with NASA tech and art installation on Wednesday

Update: Blue Origin is pushing back the mission target by 24 hours.

Blue Origin has announced its next New Shepard rocket mission called NS-17 will take place on Wednesday, August 25. The mission carrying NASA technology and a special art installation will be an uncrewed spaceflight following founder Jeff Bezos’ trip to space on NS-16.

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Skittles announce new Zero-G candy in celebration of their flight to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard

Update: Skittles will not be selling these in stores but rather giving a select few away on their social media platforms.


Along with the fancy watches, sapphire dotted wings, and national media attention, the crew of Blue Origin’s NS-16 flight also carried some Skittles with them to space. Now the company will give away a number of limited-edition Skittles Zero-G pack of the candies on their social media channels.

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Watch Blue Origin launch its New Shepard NS-14 mission with ‘Mannequin Skywalker’ onboard

Blue Origin is launching a New Shepard rocket for its NS-14 mission from West Texas today at 11:57 a.m. EST (16:57 UTC). NS-14 is the first mission for Jeff Bezos’ rocket company in 2021 and only the third New Shepard mission in the last 13 months.

In the future, Blue Origin plans to fly passengers on the New Shepard vehicle. The suborbital rocket travels to the Karman line that defines space then lands near the launch site. Passengers will see the planet from space and experience zero gravity for a few magical minutes before returning to the surface of Earth.

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[Update: Launch Day!] Source: Blue Origin targeting September for 1st New Shepard sub-orbital flight of 2020

October 13: Launch day has arrived! Tune in below!

October 12: Launch attempt now set for October 13 at 9:35 a.m. ET.

September 24: Launch scrubbed due to power supply issue.

September 22: Now official for September 24 at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.

September 18: Space Explored has learned that Blue Origin is targeting Wednesday, September 23, for this launch. The suborbital flight test will also include NASA technology to enable precision landing without a pilot, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine revealed on Friday, September 18. This autonomous landing tech is intended for use for a lunar landing system. Original story from August 10, 2020 below.


Blue Origin, the rocket company created by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, appears to be planning its first sub-orbital flight of 2020. Space Explored has learned that Blue Origin is planning to attempt the 13th launch of its New Shepard vehicle in September.

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