Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has revealed who will fly on its next space tourism mission.
That six-passenger suborbital flight will lift off from the company’s West Texas launch site, on a date that hasn’t been announced yet.
The upcoming mission is known as NS-33, because it will be the 33rd overall launch of Blue Origin’s reusable, autonomous New Shepard vehicle. It will be the company’s 13th human spaceflight mission.
Here’s a brief rundown of the six NS-33 passengers, using information provided by Blue Origin.
- Allie Kuehner, an environmentalist, adventurer and explorer who serves on the board of the conservation nonprofit Nature is Nonpartisan.
- Carl Kuehner, Allie’s husband and a conservationist as well. He serves as chairman of Building and Land Technology, a real estate firm “dedicated to building communities and ecosystems that promote long-term growth and sustainability,” according to Blue Origin.
- Leland Larson, a philanthropist, gardener and beekeeper who previously led School Bus Services, Inc. and Larson Transportation Services, both of them family-owned Oregon businesses.
- Freddie Rescigno, Jr., the founder, president and CEO of the wire and cable company Commodity Cables. He’s also a competitive golfer.
- Owolabi Salis, a financial consultant and lawyer who wrote the book “Equitocracy.” Salis “is also a key member of The Soul Maker Ministry, which preaches diversity given the diverse nature of the universe,” Blue Origin wrote. “He is dedicating this mission to victims of discrimination and civil rights violations.”
- Jim Sitkin, a retired attorney and lifelong adventurer who currently volunteers for a non-governmental organization that works with government and community leaders in Central Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.
New Shepard flights last 10 to 12 minutes from liftoff to the touchdown of the vehicle’s crew capsule. (New Shepard’s first-stage booster also comes back to Earth for a safe landing and eventual reuse).
During this brief time, New Shepard passengers get to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see the curve of Earth against the blackness of space.
Blue Origin’s first crewed mission was in July 2021, a flight that included Bezos and his brother Mark. NS-33 will be the company’s fourth human spaceflight of 2025.
