Watch Blue Origin launch its fourth crewed mission to space

This morning, Blue Origin will launch its fourth passenger flight to the edge of space and back, but this time, there won't be any big name celebrities on board. Six crew members, five paying customers, and one company employee will be flying this mission, as Blue Origin transitions into regular commercial flights.

SNL star and comedian Pete Davidson was supposed to be on this mission as a guest, but the flight was supposed to take place on March 23rd. Davidson was no longer able to participate in the new launch date because Blue Origin pushed the trip back a week. Gary Lai, the chief architect of the New Shepard rocket, was replaced by Blue Origin.

The Hagle's will be on board, as will the rest of the crew. Sharon Hagle runs a non-profit called SpaceKids Global to encourage students to pursue STEAM education, while her husband is the CEO of Tricor International. Jim Kitchen, a teacher,entrepreneur, and world explorer, and Marty Allen, a CEO and angel investor, will be riding along. George Nield was the associate administrator of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration. He was once responsible for licensing launches.

Image: Blue Origin

Blue Origin has tried to reserve at least one seat for a celebrity per flight, despite the fact that their passenger flights are still relatively new. Star Trek captain William Shatner was on the flight before Good Morning America anchor Michael Strahan. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, rode on New Shepard's very first crewed flight in the summer of 2021.

New Shepard launches from Blue Origin's launchpad near Van Horn in West Texas. Crew members are riding on top of the vehicle. The rocket and capsule reach a height around 65 miles high before they separate. Passengers inside get a brief glimpse of the Earth, as well as a brief glimpse of weightlessness. After the rocket and capsule fall back to Earth, the parachutes slow the capsule down and it lands upright.

Blue Origin plans to broadcast live coverage of the mission at 8:10AM. This flight may be more typical of what Blue Origin flights will look like as the company becomes more regular.