Global site navigation

Blue Origin sends first Egyptian and Portugese nationals to space
Business and Economy

Blue Origin sends first Egyptian and Portugese nationals to space

by  AFP 1 min read
A Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launches from Launch Site One in West Texas north of Van Horn
A Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launches from Launch Site One in West Texas north of Van Horn. Photo: Patrick T. FALLON / AFP/File
Source: AFP

New feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block and enjoy!

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin on Thursday launched six people to space, including the first from Egypt and Portugal, on the company's sixth crewed flight.

Mission "N-22" saw the New Shepard suborbital rocket blast off around 8:58 am local time (1358 GMT) from Blue's base in the west Texas desert.

The autonomous, re-usable vehicle sent its crew capsule soaring above the Karman line, the internationally recognized space boundary, 62 miles (100 kilometers) above sea level.

"I'm floating!" a crew mate could be heard saying on a livestream, as the capsule coasted to its highest point and the passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness.

Both the rocket and capsule separately returned to the base -- the latter using giant parachutes -- completing the mission around 11 minutes after lift-off.

The crew included Egyptian engineer Sara Sabry, and Portuguese entrepreneur Mario Ferreira, both the first people of their countries to leave Earth.

Read also

Bemused tourists granted front row seats to China's latest fire and fury

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!

It also included Coby Cotton, one of five co-founders of the YouTube sports and comedy channel Dude Perfect, which boasts more than 57 million followers.

A Blue Origin spokeswoman confirmed all six crew were paying passengers -- though Sabry's seat was sponsored by nonprofit Space for Humanity.

Blue Origin has not revealed its ticket prices.

Past flights have included celebrity guests who have flown for free, including Star Trek legend William Shatner.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.

Hot: