Blue Origin set a new record on its latest space tourism flight.
That mission, called NS-26, sent six people to suborbital space and back this morning (Aug. 29) from Blue Origin‘s West Texas spaceport, reaching a maximum altitude of 64.6 miles (104 kilometers) above ground level.
One of them was Karsen Kitchen, a 21-year-old student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). According to Blue Origin, Kitchen is the youngest woman ever to cross the Kármán line, the 62-mile-high (100 km) boundary that many people regard as the start of outer space.
Kitchen has some space connections and aspirations: She’s interning with Blue Origin, according to ChapelBoro.com. And her dad, Jim, a business professor at UNC, flew on the company’s NS-20 mission in March 2022.
Blue Origin also launched the youngest man — and youngest person, period — beyond the Kármán line: 18-year-old Dutch student Oliver Daemen.
Jeff Bezos‘ company notched that milestone on its very first crewed flight, which occurred on July 20, 2021. That mission also carried Bezos, his brother Mark and 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk to the final frontier.
As its name suggests, NS-26 was the 26th overall flight of New Shepard, Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital vehicle. Eight of those missions have been crewed; the rest have been robotic research flights.
As its name suggests, NS-26 was the 26th overall flight of New Shepard, Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital vehicle. Eight of those missions have been crewed; the rest have been robotic research flights.
Source: https://www.space.com/blue-origin-launches-youngest-woman-karman-line
