Blue Origin NS-18

Blue Origin 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 flight, carrying four people including actor William Shatner, 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.

"NS-18" redirects here. For other uses, see NS18 (disambiguation).

Blue Origin NS-18
Mission typeCrewed sub-orbital spaceflight
OperatorBlue Origin
Mission duration10 minutes, 17 seconds
Apogee107 km (66 mi)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftRSS First Step
ManufacturerBlue Origin
Crew
Crew size4
Members
Start of mission
Launch date13 October 2021, 14:49:51 UTC
RocketNew Shepard (NS4)
Launch siteCorn Ranch, LS-1
ContractorBlue Origin
End of mission
Landing date13 October 2021, 14:59 UTC
Landing siteCorn Ranch

Blue Origin NS-18 mission patch
 

At 90, Shatner became 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

The crew of four include Blue Origin's vice president of mission and flight operations Audrey Powers, former NASA engineer and third Australian-born person in space Chris Boshuizen, vice chair for life sciences and healthcare at the French software company Dassault Systèmes Glen de Vries, and Canadian actor William Shatner.

Prime crew
Position Crew
Tourist United States Audrey Powers
First spaceflight
Tourist Australia Chris Boshuizen
First spaceflight
Tourist United States Glen de Vries
Only spaceflight
Tourist 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. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  5. Maidenberg, Micah (13 October 2021). "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Launches William Shatner to Space in Its Second Human Flight". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  6. "William Shatner, TV's Capt. Kirk, blasts into space". AP NEWS. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
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