Blue Origin NS-16 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
NS-16

Mission type	Test flight
Operator	Blue Origin
Mission duration	10 minutes, 18 seconds
Apogee	107 kilometres (66 miles)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	RSS First Step
Manufacturer	Blue Origin
Crew
Members	Jeff Bezos Mark Bezos Wally Funk Oliver Daemen
Start of mission
Launch date	20 July 2021, 13:11 UTC
Rocket	New Shepard (NS4)
Launch site	Corn Ranch
End of mission
Landing date	20 July 2021, 13:21 UTC
Landing site	Corn Ranch
Blue Origin insignia New Shepard flights ← NS-15 NS-17 →

NS-16 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin which flew on 20 July 2021. The mission was the sixteenth flight of the company's New Shepard integrated launch vehicle and spacecraft, and its first crewed flight. It carried into space American billionaire and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, pilot and Mercury 13 candidate Wally Funk, and Dutch student Oliver Daemen. The flight commenced from Blue Origin's sub-orbital launch site in West Texas aboard the third flight of New Shepard booster NS4 and the spacecraft RSS First Step, both having previously flown on NS-14 and NS-15 earlier in the year.

NS-16 was the first human spaceflight from the U.S. state of Texas. Daemen, age 18, and Funk, age 82, became the youngest and oldest people to travel to space. The mission also became the first fully automated flight with civilian passengers. The flight qualified the crew as FAA commercial astronauts.

Crew

Four crewmembers flew on NS-16. Originally, the anonymous winner of a $28 million auction held by Blue Origin in support of its Club for the Future program was to be the fourth crewmember on RSS First Step. However, the anonymous winner had unspecified scheduling conflicts and was re-manifested for a future New Shepard flight; Daemen took the vacated position. Oliver's father Joes Daemen, the CEO of private equity firm Somerset Capital Partners, paid for the fourth seat.

Prime crew

Position	Astronaut
Tourist	Jeff Bezos First spaceflight
Commander	Mark Bezos First spaceflight
Tourist	Wally Funk First spaceflight
Tourist	Oliver Daemen First spaceflight

See also

In Spanish: Blue Origin NS-16 para niños