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Crew begins New Shepard spacecraft ingress
The six-member NS-19 crew is beginning ingress of the New Shepard spacecraft.
Crew begins walk up launch tower
The six-member NS-19 Blue Origin crew is beginning to ascend the launch tower to the New Shepard spacecraft.
NS-19 crew arrives at the launch pad
The NS-19 crew is now at Blue Origin’s Launch Pad One in Van Horn, Texas, getting ready to board the New Shepard spacecraft for launch.
Crew driving to launch pad
The six members of the NS-19 crew, including “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan, is now driving to the launch pad. Also in one of the vehicles is Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, who flew to space July 20 as part of the debut crew launch, called NS-16.
Crew emerges from training center
The NS-19 crew just emerged from the training center to get into their vehicle that will transport them to the launch pad.
New Shepard system on the pad ahead of NS-19 launch
The Blue Origin broadcast showed an early-morning view of the New Shepard system sitting ready on the pad, ahead of the planned liftoff of the NS-19 mission later this morning.
Commemorative coin
Here’s an image of the commemorative mission coin that the NS-19 crew will take into space. It includes images of the Blue Origin symbol (a feather) and the New Shepard rocket.
Key moments to watch for before launch
Key moments in today’s countdown to launch:
- T-54 mins, ceremony during which crew receives commemorative coins
- T-45 mins, crew departs the Astronaut Training Center and moves to the launch tower.
- T-33 mins, astronauts will load into the crew capsule.
- T-24 mins, capsule hatch close.
- T-10 mins, Terminal Count Ready Report from Mission Control.
Robert Pearlman of collectSPACE on site
Robert Pearlman of collectSPACE, who is a long-time Space.com contributor, is reporting live from Van Horn.
Here’s his first report on Twitter from the launch site: “Good morning from ‘s Launch Site One, where there is a #NewShepard rocket on the pad and a chill in the air! Launch preparations are underway for an 8:45 a.m. CST liftoff with the #NS19 crew. @BlueOrigin”
Tribute for Glen de Vries
Blue Origin ran a short tribute video (available below) for Glen de Vries, a participant in the company’s NS-18 spaceflight with “Star Trek” star William Shatner. De Vries died in a plane crash in November.
Weather is good for launch
Blue Origin’s webcast just said that weather is looking good for launch.
Blue Origin’s webcast is live
Blue Origin’s live launch webcast for today’s NS-19 New Shepard mission has begun. You can watch it in the window at the top of this page.
Meet Blue Origin’s NS-19 crew
Blue Origin has released a new video showcasing New Shepard’s NS-19 crew and you can watch it here.
The NS-19 mission will launch Good Morning America host and former NFL star Michael Strahan on a suborbital trip with five crewmates, including Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of the late Alan Shepard, one of NASA’s Mercury 7 astronauts who was the first American to fly in space and later walked on the moon.
“I kind of feel like a little bit like I’m following in my father’s footsteps,” Churchley says in the video.
“The moment that I decided I would be willing to go was here,” Strahan says, referring to when he covered Blue Origin’s first crewed launch with Jeff Bezos aboard for Good Morning America earlier this year. “Watching Jeff and Mark Bezos completely changed my mind. It was amazing.”
Dylan Taylor, one of the four paying passengers, says going to space has been a lifelong dream, while another passenger, Evan Dick, says he’d hoped to work in aerospace when he was younger and is catching up for lost time with this flight.
Father-child duo of Lane and Cameron Bess — also paying passengers — round out the crew.
“When it became real, I went up to the family and said ‘Who wants to go?’ and the only person who raised their hand was Cameron,” Lane says. “We weren’t thinking about it being first father and child so much as it being an opportunity to experience it together.”
“It’s certainly an honor to be one of the first LGTBQ+ people in space,” Cameron, who is pansexual, says in the video. “You know I’m now hero. I didn’t really work to go space, but I do think that the visibility that I’m providing for that community is valuable.”
It’s Launch Day for Blue Origin’s NS-19
It’s launch day for Blue Origin’s NS-19 mission aboard New Shepard, which will liftoff off at 9:45 a.m. EST (1445 GMT) to carry Good Morning America host and former NFL player Michael Strahan and five others on a suborbital trip to space.
The six New Shepard crewmembers are at Blue Origin’s Launch Site One near Van Horn, Texas for today’s launch. They’re staying at Blue Origin’s Astronaut Village, where they’re flight has been delayed since Dec. 9 due to high winds and weather.
Blue Origin’s webcast begn at 8:15 a.m. EST (1315 GMT) and you can watch it in the feed above.
Flying aboard the New Shepard vehicle with Strahan will be:
- Laura Shepard Churchley, 74, the eldest daughter of NASA astronaut Alan Shepard. Shepard was the first NASA astronaut to fly in space, and the New Shepard spacecraft is named after him.
- Dylan Taylor, 51, chairman and CEO of the space exploration firm Voyager Space, founder of the nonprofit Space for Humanity, and co-founding patron of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
- Evan Dick, age not disclosed, an engineer and investor who is a volunteer pilot for Starfighters Aerospace.
- Lane Bess, age not disclosed, principal and founder of a technology-focused venture fund called Bess Ventures and Advisory.
- Cameron Bess, age not disclosed, who is a child of Lane. They stream variety content on Twitch under the alias MeepsKitten.
We’ll have live coverage of the countdown and launch here.