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Blue Origin NS-18

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NS-18
Mission typeCrewed sub-orbital spaceflight
OperatorBlue Origin
Mission duration10 minutes, 17 seconds
Apogee107 kilometres (66 miles)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftRSS First Step
ManufacturerBlue Origin
Crew
Members
Start of mission
Launch date13 October 2021, 14:49:51 UTC
RocketNew Shepard (NS4)
Launch siteCorn Ranch LS-1
End of mission
Landing date13 October 2021, 14:59 UTC
Landing siteCorn Ranch
← NS-17
NS-19 →

NS-18 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin that launched on 13 October 2021.[1] The mission was the eighteenth flight of the company's New Shepard integrated launch vehicle and spacecraft. It was the second crewed New Shepard launch. The crew of four include Blue Origin's vice president of mission and flight operations Audrey Powers, former NASA engineer and third Australian in space Chris Boshuizen, vice chair for life sciences and healthcare at the French software company Dassault Systèmes Glen de Vries, and Canadian-American actor William Shatner. The flight launched from Blue Origin's sub-orbital launch site in West Texas aboard the fourth flight of New Shepard booster NS4 and the spacecraft RSS First Step, both having previously flown on NS-14, NS-15, and NS-16 earlier in the year.

At 90, Shatner is the oldest person to fly into space, surpassing the record of 82 which had been held by Wally Funk for three months since her flight on Blue Origin NS-16.[2][3][4] Per Blue Origin, Shatner was a guest of the company, on the flight and did not have to pay for the trip.[5]

While in space, Shatner experienced the overview effect and articulated it live on camera in a post-flight conversation with Jeff Bezos.[6]

Crew

Prime crew
Position Crew
Civilian United States Audrey Powers
First spaceflight
Civilian Australia Chris Boshuizen
First spaceflight
Civilian United States Glen de Vries
First spaceflight
Civilian Canada William Shatner
First spaceflight

References

  1. ^ "New Shepard NS-18: Mission Updates". Blue Origin. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  2. ^ "William Shatner and Blue Origin's Audrey Powers to fly on New Shepard's 18th mission". Blue Origin. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Blue Origin announces next customers to fly on New Shepard's upcoming human flight on October 12". Blue Origin. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  4. ^ Grush, Loren (4 October 2021). "Blue Origin is officially sending William Shatner to space". The Verge. Retrieved 4 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Maidenberg, Micah (2021-10-13). "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Launches William Shatner to Space in Its Second Human Flight". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  6. ^ "William Shatner, TV's Capt. Kirk, blasts into space". AP NEWS. 2021-10-13. Retrieved 2021-10-13.