Blue Origin executed its tenth crewed flight of the New Shepard suborbital vehicle on February 25, carrying six people to space. One passenger chose to remain largely anonymous, a departure from previous missions.
The launch, designated NS-30, occurred at 10:49 a.m. Eastern from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas, following a brief delay due to a technical issue. The crew capsule attained a peak altitude of 107 kilometers, before safely landing ten minutes and eight seconds post-liftoff. The booster performed a successful powered landing approximately two and a half minutes earlier.
This marked the tenth private astronaut mission for Blue Origin, starting with Jeff Bezos's flight on NS-16 in July 2021. Five passengers were identified before launch; the sixth passenger, a man wearing a flight suit with an “R. Wilson” nametag, requested anonymity. While unusual, this is not unprecedented; China's Shenzhou missions and some Virgin Galactic flights have also had undisclosed passengers before launch, but always revealed eventually.
NS-30 followed the payload-only mission NS-29, which simulated lunar gravity for its cargo. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp highlighted the dual role of New Shepard at the Commercial Space Conference. “New Shepard serves two really big purposes. The first is that it is a testbed for almost everything that we do,” he stated, referencing technology tests like the lunar gravity simulation on NS-29 and avionics testing. The second is the space tourism market: “The tickets aren’t inexpensive,” he admitted, “and there’s no buyer’s remorse.” “I do believe New Shepard will be a very good business for us,” he concluded.