Blue Origin's next flight will carry Alan Shepard's daughter to space
It's the first New Shepard flight to carry a full six passengers.
Blue Origin is still eager to grab headlines with spaceflight passengers even as it pushes some boundaries. Jeff Bezos' outfit has revealed that its New Shepard mission on December 9th will be the first to carry a full six passengers into space, including Laura Shepard Churchley — that is, Alan Shepard's daughter. You can also expect a swell of TV coverage with Good Morning America co-anchor Michael Strahan also coming along for the ride.
Other passengers include Voyager Space chief Dylan Taylor, engineer and investor Evan Dick, venture capitalist Lane Bess and his child Cameron Bess (who will also be the first Twitch streamer to go to space). The launch is currently slated for 10AM Eastern on the 9th, with Blue Origin's livestream starting 90 minutes earlier.
This 19th New Shepard flight could be considered a consolation prize following Blue Origin's failed lawsuit disputing NASA's SpaceX lunar lander contract. It should show that New Shepard can handle its full complement without a hitch, though, and takes the company one step closer to fulfilling ambitions that include New Glenn and a planned space station.
