| Mission type | Sub-orbital human spaceflight |
|---|---|
| Operator | Blue Origin |
| Mission duration | 10 minutes, 10 seconds |
| Apogee | 107 km (66 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | RSSFirst Step |
| Manufacturer | Blue Origin |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 4 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 20 July 2021, 8:11 amCDT (13:11 UTC) |
| Rocket | New Shepard (NS4) |
| Launch site | Corn Ranch, LS-1 |
| Contractor | Blue Origin |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 20 July 2021, 8:21 am CDT (13:21 UTC) |
| Landing site | Corn Ranch |
 Blue Origin NS-16 mission patch | |
Blue Origin NS-16 was asub-orbital spaceflight mission operated byBlue Origin which flew on 20 July 2021.[1] The mission was the sixteenth flight of the company'sNew Shepard integratedlaunch vehicle and spacecraft, and its first flight with humans aboard. It carried into space Americanbillionaire and Blue Origin founderJeff Bezos, his brotherMark, pilot andMercury 13 memberWally Funk, and Dutch studentOliver Daemen. The flight commenced from Blue Origin'sCorn Ranch sub-orbital launch site inWest Texas aboard the third flight of New Shepard booster NS4 and the spacecraftRSSFirst Step, both having previously flown on NS-14 and NS-15 earlier in the year.[2][3][4]
Blue Origin NS-16 was the first human spaceflight from the U.S. state ofTexas. Daemen, aged 18, and Funk, aged 82, became theyoungest and oldest people to travel to space, respectively, untilWilliam Shatner took the record of oldest in space at age 90 onNS-18.[2][5] The flight was approximately 10 minutes, and crossed theKármán line. The mission became the first fullyautomated flight with civilian passengers,[6] as well as the first multi-person, internationally recognized sub-orbital spaceflight.
Four passengers flew on Blue Origin NS-16.[2][7] Originally, the anonymous winner (later revealed asJustin Sun[8]) of a US$28 millionauction held by Blue Origin in support of itsClub for the Future program was to be the fourth person on RSSFirst Step.[7][9] However, the anonymous winner had unspecified scheduling conflicts and was re-manifested for a future New Shepard flight; Oliver Daemen took the vacated position.[10][11] Oliver's father Joes Daemen, the CEO of private equity firm Somerset Capital Partners, paid for the fourth seat; Joes had come second in the auction for the seat, so after the auction winner (Justin Sun) did not take the seat, it was passed onto Joes, who paid for the seat and gave it to Oliver.[12][13]
| Position | Passenger | |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist |  Jeff BezosFirst spaceflight | |
| Tourist | Mark Bezos First spaceflight | |
| Tourist | Wally Funk First spaceflight | |
| Tourist |  Oliver Daemen[14]First spaceflight | |
Daemen's seat had been reserved for the winner of a $28 million auction that closed last month, but that winner remains anonymous and "has chosen to fly on a future New Shepard mission due to scheduling conflicts", a news release said.
The young physics student takes the place of the auction winner, who Blue Origin said could not fly on the mission "due to scheduling conflicts". Blue Origin said the auction winner "has chosen to fly on a future New Shepard mission".
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