Blue Origin successfully launched six passengers to the edge of space on Saturday, June 1, 2025, marking its 12th human spaceflight and 32nd flight overall for the New Shepard program. The international crew, consisting of four men and two women, experienced several minutes of weightlessness and breathtaking views of Earth before returning safely to the West Texas launch site.
The crew included Aymette Medina Jorge, a K-12 STEM teacher; Dr. Gretchen Green, a radiologist turned explorer; Jaime Alemán, a former Panamanian ambassador to the United States; Jesse Williams, a businessman from Canada; Mark Rocket, an aerospace executive from New Zealand; and Paul Jeris, an entrepreneur. The New Shepard rocket and crew capsule lifted off from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in West Texas. The New Shepard single-stage rocket then flew itself back to a landing near its launch pad so it could be refurbished for another flight. The capsule, with its large windows, coasted to nearly 65 miles above Earth, crossing the Kármán line which is the internationally recognized boundary of space.
During their brief time in space, the passengers enjoyed approximately three minutes of weightlessness. Upon re-entry, the capsule descended under three large parachutes, landing safely in the West Texas desert about 10 minutes after liftoff. The entire experience was described as "incredible, very moving, very spiritual" by Jaime Alemán, who added that it was "even better than I ever imagined."
Blue Origin's New Shepard is a fully reusable, autonomous suborbital rocket system designed for space tourism and scientific payloads. Named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space, the vehicle is powered by a single BE-3PM engine that uses liquid hydrogen and oxygen. The only byproduct of the engine's combustion is water vapor, making it a clean energy source.
With this successful mission, Blue Origin has now flown a total of 68 individuals to space, including four who have flown twice. While the exact cost of a New Shepard flight is not publicly disclosed, estimates suggest it is upwards of $500,000 per seat. Aymette Medina Jorge's seat was sponsored by Farmacias Similares, a Mexican healthcare company.
Blue Origin has been the sole provider of suborbital passenger flights since June 2024, after Virgin Galactic, founded by Richard Branson, retired its original rocketplane to focus on building upgraded Delta-class spacecraft, which are expected to resume flights the following year.
