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Blue Origin launches 'Perfect 10' space tourists on New Shepard rocket (video)

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"Every crew has a special crew name, and this crew has named themselves a Perfect 10. Well, that makes perfect sense to me, considering the fact that this is, in fact, our 10th human flight."

Blue Origin launched its 10th space tourism mission this morning (Feb. 25), sending six paying passengers to suborbital space.

After a slight delay due to a hold, Blue Origin's suborbital New Shepard vehicle lifted off from the company's West Texas site today at 10:50 a.m. EST (1550 GMT; 9:50 a.m. local Texas time). Blue Origin's New Shepard booster touched down in the dusty Texas desert around seven minutes after liftoff, and the flight's capsule returned to the ground three minutes after that. All three parachutes on the capsule deployed during the crew's descent; on the company's previous uncrewed research flight earlier this month, one of the capsule's parachutes failed to deploy.

The six crewmembers on today's flight named themselves "Perfect 10," launch commentator Eddie Seyffert said during Blue Origin's livestream. "Well, that makes perfect sense to me, considering the fact that this is, in fact, our 10th human flight."

a white rocket lifts off above a desert full of scrub plants

Blue Origin's New Shepard booster touches down after launching the NS-30 suborbital tourist mission on Feb. 25, 2025. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

Blue Origin called today's flight NS-30, because it was the 30th overall flight of New Shepard. The mission was the 10th crewed mission of the vehicle, which consists of a reusable booster and a reusable capsule.

a white rocket lifts off above a desert full of scrub plants

Blue Origin's crew capsule after landing at the conclusion of the NS-30 tourism flight to suborbital space on Feb. 25, 2025. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

The crewmembers on today's flight were venture capitalist Lane Bess (who flew on New Shepard for the second time), Spanish TV host Jesús Calleja, entrepreneur and physicist Elaine Chia Hyde, reproductive endocrinologist Richard Scott and hedge fund partner Tushar Shah. You can learn more about them in our crew reveal story.

six people in blue flight suits stand near a metal launch tower

The crew of Blue Origin's NS-30 suborbital tourism flight, which launched on Feb. 25, 2025. Clockwise from upper left: Tushar Shah, Jesus Calleja, Richard Scott, Lane Bess, Elain Chia Hyde and R. Wilson. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

Blue Origin did not provide details about the sixth crewmember, and stated that he wished to remain anonymous. But we know that person is a man with the surname Wilson, thanks to the NS-30 mission patch and a few photos that the company has posted on X.

Related: Blue Origin crew, including history's 100th woman to fly to space, lands safely (video)

RELATED STORIES:

— Facts about New Shepard, Blue Origin's rocket for space tourism

— In photos: William Shatner launches to space on Blue Origin's New Shepard

— Blue Origin launches Michael Strahan and crew of 5 on record-setting suborbital spaceflight

New Shepard flights last 10 to 12 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown. Passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness during this stretch and get to see Earth against the blackness of space.

We don't know how much a New Shepard ticket costs. Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin's main competitor in the suborbital space tourism industry, currently charges $600,000 per seat.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

2 Comments Comment from the forums
  • doc janos
    Have completely lost interest in these billionaire elevator joy rides. They contribute nothing and to call the participants astronauts is about like calling you or me aviators because we flew coach on Delta from Atlanta to La Guardia.
    Reply
  • Unclear Engineer
    The Blue Origin feat of landing their suborbital launch vehicle for reuse has been fully eclipsed by SpaceX landings of so many Falcon 9 boosters.
    Reply