🔴LIVE🔴Blue Origin launches the latest crewed spaceflight🌍

[Music] ground go all of a sudden has a totally different perspective wow look at that view Captain go of this little place here new Shepherd is go for lunch this is heaven almost like an out-of- Body Experience new Shepherd has cleared the tower this is a new era where people like a teacher from North Carolina gets to go to space space has always been something I wanted to do but it's never been accessible until now look at that view look at the view it's just unbelievable you have to see it with your eyes to really really take it in everybody else should go to space look at the Earth just look outside look at the Earth dude what [Music] face this a life changing experience every needs to do this it was absolutely insane I me the cool thing ever oh my word I'm just spinning that was that was Enlightenment this is the best experience of my life by far thank you everyone in the world deserves to see this everyone needs to see this oh my God it's just a dream come true I want to do this my entire life oh my God I just went to space as a first woman from Mexico I think we need to give this gift a perspective to everybody oh man this is too cool I always said I'm going to do it and I just did it we went to SP what you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine W I can't believe this as soon as you land you will want more of it these astronauts get to witness firsthand our planet from space and they return with this new outlook for the future of our planet and I think one of the things I love about that video Jackie is just the energy when they they land they are basically still soaking in the overview effect as like we're catching them in the moment it's it's pretty incredible and so far we've flown 37 people across seven human space flights today will bring the total up to 43 all told that's about 5% of all people that have ever flown above the Carmen line which is the internationally recognized line of space at 100 kmers up and we have flown 9% almost 10% of all the women that have flown to space which is really cool again one one step in terms of uh opening doors for many more people ah we see our live camera we've got Ingress going on of our uh our astronauts down there in West Texas and our crew member 7 Sarah and Knight up there on the tower with them we'll get into who is crew number seven a little bit later in the show Jackie it's getting real for this crew right now and new Shepard has done things that no other rocket you know has done in history and one of those unprecedented things is everyday people like our astronauts today can visit space it's really amazing absolutely all right we are at T-minus 31 minutes and 45 seconds to go until launch uh and why don't we talk there as you said six astronauts in the rocket uh in the capsule that is uh and why don't we dive a little deeper into one of them which is uh Dr Rob furl who has a unique job to perform on board today we mentioned he's a distinguished PR professor and assistant vice president for research at the University of Florida already quite an impressive CV um but we're going to add to that CV he's going to turn into an astronaut but not just that but he's going to be flying with his research in the capsule becoming the first NASA funded research to conduct an experiment as part of a commercial suborbital crew and Rob's doing real serious science on this flight he's per forming an experiment designed to understand how genes react to the transition to and from microgravity which will lead to a better understanding of how living organisms respond to space travel at the molecular level which is giving me major you know biology flashbacks chlorophyll and such it's bio uh anxiety right but these results are going to be really interesting for wide ranging fields from space medicine to drug research in agriculture yeah and absolutely and as we you know as we blue origin and and others around the world are looking to go further into space understanding how humans and our bodies react uh uh is really important AB all right we're going to throw it over to to our capsule Communicator we're going to do a coms check with our astronauts right now let's check it out so Jackie we're just waiting here as our team gets aligned waiting for the capsule Communicator to communicate with each one of the six astronauts to make sure that their Comm systems are working you saw on the bottom right that is Laura styles uh again we're going to talk more about the crew member 7 role there are two people that play a crew member 7 uh role one we talked about Sarah kns she does the training with the um with the the astronauts uh for the two days prior but also Laura Styles who is on Capcom capsule Communicator so she's the one who is in our astronauts here and that's really important because the the crew member 7even their role is to make our customers feel comfortable and we don't have somebody from Blue Orin in the capsule as they go up to space and back so but we are with them the entire flight the entire uh you know from the moment they land in West Texas and even before through the moment uh that they land back on Earth from their flight to space these two members of the crew member 7 are taking care of our team and these crew members SS are exceptional people they really are you know we have professional record holding skydivers like Laura you know we have Navy submarine divers we have the full gamut of just exceptional people and like you were saying earlier you know we were talking yesterday Aron it's these people have a unique skill set of being you know technical and being able to communicate these complex technical you know processes and what's happening during flight but they're also you know able to make people feel confident and they're you know they're that voice in the capsule throughout the entire Mission making you feel very comfortable very um educated and and excited for your flight and prepared prepared it's hard to be excited in a positive way if you're not prepared into your point the kind of the qualitative and quantitative mix of uh the skill set is is unique um and hard to balance not not everybody has that all right we are team is 27 minutes and 20 seconds to go until launch uh we've got six astronauts that are in the capsule right now um one of them uh we we've talked about all all six of them it's it's a really nice mix one of them is Rob furl Dr Rob furl and he is going to be doing uh experiments when he's in in the middle of his space flight to look at how genes um uh change uh on your way up but also on the way back from space really important you've worked a lot you are you are our main face with our fantastic customer NASA maybe you can tell us a little bit more about the program that is taking him up there and and sponsoring his his uh his research absolutely and as we noted it's it's a super unique opportunity to go to space with your research and Rob is the first NASA funded researcher to fly on a commercial suborbital flight so this is a really big moment for us at blue but also All The Advocates across the space flight Community who have been you know waiting and and excited and and pushing for this moment so let's take a closer look at how today's flight came together for our very special astronaut and researcher Dr Rob furl what does it take to adapt to living in space we'd like to know the value of being able to conduct your own experiments is in this concept of um knowing best how to execute the experiment understanding what's important and what's not so we're really quite thrilled that Rob is going to be the one actually in the seat in order to lead up to the space flight we do practice runs so our practice run starts with the astronaut loading into the capsule once he is in to the chair inside our mock capsule he loads the plants onto his legs he's carrying eight samples activated at four different points during the flight the first sample set is activated while they're still on the ground at the same time that his experiment is activated there's a ground control being activated to run parallel once the simulation starts running he has a second set to activate which is when the capsule separates from the rocket booster during the microgravity experience he and the plants are free floating inside the capsule and in Space the third set of CFS are activated prior to re-entry where they will experience a HG Force at that point he enters back into the chair puts his seat belt back on and gets ready to activate during the buzzing sound of 30 seconds to re-entry the experiment we're conducting on Blue origin is one that allows us to see how plants respond in this trans transition from a normal terrestrial environment to a microgravity environment of of near space this is part of a culture of of deep experiential science that I think is characteristic of of the Curiosity of of Science and it's just a wonderful opportunity to go take it all to another level so how does it feel to go to space pretty incredible [Music] that's so cool you know yes Jackie I've been at Blues since our very first mission and it's been so exciting to watch how new Shepard has evolved over the years from doing payload flights only to now payload and human space flights to also the uh the now the the tended payloads science let's listen that com track but I can hear you copy I have you loud and clear asant kitchen copy Phoenix blue Control Phoenix let's rock and roll all right [Music] concur crew we are T minus 22 minutes in [Music] counting as we proceed I'll do my best to keep you updated but for now just sit back and [Music] relax all right Jackie we just heard it there our comm's team has our capsule Communicator has confirmed with the astronaut crew that the Comm system is working and ready to go and they're coming in clear you can tell they are ready to rock and roll they're ready to get on this flight and go to space there were some energetic voices there which we always love to hear during a Capcom check that's very very exciting very positive they've got to be jacked that is super super exciting so we heard from all six of them we were just talking actually before we got into the coms check here about Rob furl and his experiments and know we've gone from payloads to astronaut flights and now tended payload flights and that's really it's you know we talked about it since the beginning of this program is that's where we want it to end up because it it's a really important uh pipeline for these researchers that sometimes you don't necessarily want or need your experiment to go all the way up to the International Space Station you need a couple of minutes of some really clean G's maybe that's going to expand your your technical Readiness level to then go to the International Space Station so it's nice to have this as a stepping stone truly and it's been a long time coming like I mentioned a lot of us at blue but honestly the bigger Community Rob and Anna Lisa so many people you know at so many different institutions and at Nasa have been looking forward to seeing this kind of flight happen and we hope to see so many more in the future like I think it's so amazing that Rob and his team flew multiple payloads on our uncrewed missions and now for Rob to get to fly with his science is just absolutely exciting Rob's flight was made possible thanks to funding through a NASA Tech flights Grant by the agency's flight opportunities program and NASA's division of biological and physical scienes which is just an amazing collaboration here yeah so cool well so that's a deep dive on uh our our friend colleague and future astronaut Rob furl let's meet the rest of the crew we're at T-minus 20 minutes to go until left off for new Shephard's 26 Mission our eth human space flight who are astronauts number 38 through 43 kick it off the true stars of the show I'm happy to uh in seat number one we have efim rabine efim is an entrepreneur and philanthropist his company has revolutionized Supply chains for raw materials around the world he's a race car driver Chef avid skier Adventurer and soon to be astronaut quite a quite a catalog there in seat number two is nicolina elrick a philanthropist entrepreneur and adoc vate for steam which stands for science technology engineering the Arts and Mathematics she's dedicated her life to mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs she's a spirited Explorer and has a lifelong passion for Aviation she's a certified helicopter pilot and boy she's going a little bit higher and we'll have quite a beautiful view today she's going to have a spectacular view let's keep on going seat number three we've got Eugene grin he was born in Ukraine and and immigrated to the US in the late' 70s to start his career in real estate and finance he lives in Upstate New York as a passionate traveler and uh let me tell you he's going to add a pretty cool destination I was going to say to his passport but not really to his passport I guess we need to offer stamps we need to get on that stamp game ah good idea Jackie all right c number four Professor Rob furl we learned about him uh just a moment ago he's the director of the Estus space Institute at University of Florida he and his team have the space plan at the space plants lab have flown five experience on new Shepard already so he is a veteran of the new Shepard program but all of this is in an effort to study how living organisms respond to extreme conditions can't wait to see how that research comes out today that is one research paper I will be reading I'm I'm marking it now I'm marking it now in seat number five we have Carson kitchen she's poised to make history today as the youngest woman ever to cross the kmen line she's a senior at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and earlier this year she founded orbitel an incredible initiative to encourage young women and girls to pursue careers in the space industry fun fact about Carson she is part of a space family and is the daughter of another new Shepherd astronaut Jim kitchen very close-knit family uh you know what's that Express a family that goes to space together stays together isn't that totally that's totally how that expr that's definitely no but we actually have been very fortunate to fly Laura Shepard of course daughter of of Alan shepher our namesake for the new Shepherd program but also Cameron and Lane Bess went together and Jeff and Mark Bezos and Jeff and Mark Bezos that's a really good point so last but not least in seat number six is Dr Iman Jahan gear Iman is a cardiologist and associate professor of medicine and radiology at Vanderbilt University his flight today was m possible by mow an organization whose mission is to accelerate a multiplanetary future so that's our crew today six incredible people who are ready for the ride of their life all right we are at T-minus 16 minutes and 45 seconds to go until our 26th mission of the new Shepherd program the eighth human space flight in our program and it's um it is really it's as we're talking about the the evolution of of the new Shephard program um it is just fantastic to see as we continue to open doors for more people in this space Frontier okay uh we are at T-minus 16 minutes to go until launch uh we are uh we've got our six astronauts that are in the crew capsule and they are uh buckled in we've gone through uh our Capcom checks and why don't we send it over to the rocket for a moment as we listen in and get ready for new Shepherd's launch to space today [Music] [Music] second welcome back everybody thank you so much for joining us for New Shepherd's 26 mission to space and back our 8th human space flight we've got astronauts number 38 through 43 of the new sheeper program all buckled in and ready to go for their flight to space today now talking about this crew This Crew uh made their uh their very own postcards we talked about this postcard program for the club for the future that's our nonprofit so as part of the tradition they made their own postcards that will fly to space every time we fly astronauts each one of them creates their own postcard to take with them we love this you get to see the artistic side of them there's nicolina these these people tend to be a lot better astronauts than I am EXC me a lot a lot better artists uh than I am so I'm always a little bit jealous now the the reason why we fly these post cards is we want to make space more accessible primarily to students again this is through our club for the future program we want to see kids around the world get engaged in Steam science technology engineering arts and math to make the club for the future program even more accessible we recently launched an online way for students to draw digital postcards and send their art to space on new Shepard if you want to participate in this program to create some inspiring art that literally goes to space this is a great way to jump in anyone can do it it's free it's easy it's just super fun go ahead to draw. clubthe future.org and you can sketch your idea from the app to space I love it there's some there's a lot to be said for that tangible card that's gone to space but I also love how we're opening up more broadly um so that anybody around the world um can send something to space and back really inspiring I wish I had that program when I was growing up me too and and things are also ramping up for initiative with space for all our nonprofit club for the future and its Elite Partners women in Aerospace aiaa and the Space Foundation are rolling out a multi-year campaign that will help educate and inform audiences about the why why do we go to space what are the benefits this campaign is really special because it aligns with the White House inter agency road map uh and the goal of that is to increase space related steam education for all children no matter who they are where they're from you know Aron as this campaign begins to unfold we're going to see the collective power of these you know space super organizations coming together for good so stay tuned for more space for all activities it's going to be exciting this it's it's great to see other you know lack of a better term likeminded organizations pull as you said pulling their superpowers together uh to open up space for the Next Generation we we're building the road they're going to have to build on top of it in space okay we're at T-minus 12 minutes to go until launch let's take a look at the flight profile of what these uh the astronauts are going to be um flying today on New Shepard right and it's a suborbital vehicle as we've discussed which is just a fantastic way to experience space because you know we've said it again and again but it's so accessible it's open to everyone not just traditional professional astronauts it's a straight up straight down flight path about 15 minutes so again for everyday people in smaller organizations and universities to fly payloads and experiment at a smaller scale then like you said going to the International Space Station which is amazing but it's just a much bigger undertaking and you know this way you can get your results back same day you launch them to space you can go to space on a 15-minute Journey again just Everyday People it's beautiful clean clean G's simple up simple back down over the Carmen line let's check out this video and learn a little bit more 6 new Shephard's Mission begins when the countdown clock reaches zero 2 1 at this point the engine will start and the rocket will lift off of the pad it will continue under the Boost phase for about 2 and 1/2 minutes until main engine cut off 20 seconds later the crew capsule will separate from the booster and the astronauts will unharness and enjoy zero g guys we're doing it the crew capsule will continue past the Carmen line to an ultimate apy of 350,000 ft or 100 km the booster will autonomously land on the landing pad ready to be prepped for its next flight around 3 and 1/2 minutes after Separation The Crew capsule will begin to re-enter Earth's atmosphere parachutes will deploy around an altitude of 7,000 ft or 2100 M providing a nice slow descent back to Earth after landing astronauts exit the capsule and are greeted by the blue Orin ground crew family and friends to celebrate and reflect on their flight new sheeper an adventure unlike anything on Earth go no go for terminal count and launch booster go capsule go ground go safety go go Capcom go engineering go and flight is go with that new Shephard is go for launch booster commence terminal count we FL controllers drop UHF voice exent 8 minutes guys minut my heart is definitely racing but veryy and booster I see all threeory all right and you heard it there our go no go poll we are go for launch you also heard again our astronauts are in there they are ready to rock and roll it's Gabon and I hear some excited cheers from inside it is truly go time yeah yeah I mean we we sit here at the desk and we've got all this adrenaline I can't imagine being in that capsule right now is they dreams that are all coming down to this one moment um super exciting okay we're at T-minus a minutes ago until launch for new Shepard's 26 Mission our eight human space flight let's talk about the vehicle carrying those uh those six astronauts up our crew capsule called the RSS First Step Jackie we love a good astrona in the space industry you want to want to talk us through that name I'm happy to and this probably won't even be the last acronym today we love acronyms in space RSS means reusable spaceship this capsule in today's flight has already flown to space and back nine times we achieve our long-term Vision by building reusable Vehicles fun trivia fact for those playing along 99% of new Shepherd's dry mass is reused everything from the crew capsule to the booster to the engines and parachutes our vehicle new Shephard is currently designed for 25 missions but we are striving to quadruple that number as the program continues I'm I'm taking that 99% number to Pub trivia night on Tuesday I'll see I'll see the non-alcoholic beer for everybody it's okay it's okay but but seriously getting back to to that that number of 99% and 25 usable uh you know 25 flights on the usable booster trying to quadruple that reusability is so important um knowing does it reduce the cost of access uh to space and space travel but it also significantly reduces the waste it's just much Kinder our our vision is millions of people living and working in in space for the benefit of Earth so we got to make sure that our program also fits into that Vision so continuing the trivia facts to that end new sheeper new Shepard's engine is fueled by a highly efficient combination of liquid oxygen and hydrogen so during the flight the only byproduct of that again maybe going to chemistry now not biology but the byproduct of that is water vapor yeah so for all of you at home today when you see that white plume coming out of the base of the rocket that will be seam right um and so it's uh you know it's it's a much cleaner engine than a lot of the traditional uh rocket engines that that that have been used in the past okay we're at T-minus 6 minutes to go until launch we've got some really cool footage here from the training that our astronauts went through over the last couple of days so our astronauts joined us about 3 days ago down in West Texas and then they spend two days going through extensive training so we go through Ingress how do you get into the rocket egress how do you get out of your seats and your harnesses uh but also out of the the the capsule itself we go through emergency procedures we want to make sure that our team uh feels um comfortable if anything were to happen and it it preps you for those sights and sounds right a a booster is an active machine right that you're on and right and so those sights and sounds are really important part of training that they're being prepared for so I am uh thank my lucky stars well I have not been an astronaut yet um yet yet is the oper is operative word there um I have gone through the entire new sheeper training program the hospitality program next time girl you can come with me but it it by the end basically I did everything minus get on into the capsule and go to space and back and by the end of it I felt so comfortable like I could go um and you get um as you said comfortable with the vehicle but then also you get to meet the team not only your crew member sevens we've talked extensively about but also the designers The Operators you go to Mission Control you go to the barn which is where we we keep and maintain the vehicles this is um you know there's a lot of thought that has been put into that training program um and you know I I can't give enough kudos to the entire team also to the crew member sens that that that are kind of the face of it as well there's a really good balance of making sure you've got enough information but you also know that n you don't need to know everything that's going on you know behind behind the scenes I'm happy to tell you but like you don't need all that we want you to feel comfortable so you can also just lay back enjoy the flight and in Rob's case do your science and in Rob's case do your science no it's a really good point okay we're at T minus three and a half minutes go until this flight super excited I you know again there's nothing like a rocket launch and a countdown clock to get you going in the middle of the week at you know whatever 3:00 in the morning um but at tus 2 minutes here what we're going to see is the vehicle is going to go into its builtin test uh so we what we call our bit checks but uh those are actually driven by the vehicle itself um so it's a fully autonomous vehicle from T-minus 2 minutes through the launch and landing of course we've got our team as you've seen there on the uh on on your screen in Mission Control they've got their eyes glued to the to their screens making sure that everything is within bounds but the vehicle is driving itself and so what we're going to see here in a minute that the most visible part of it the uh the fins at the base of the vehicle um those are going to gimbal back and forth four of those fins one on each quadrant and then you will also see the nozzle it's kind of hidden in your screen right there hopefully we'll get a peek also will gimbal back and forth those two subsystems work together in conjunction uh to guide the vehicle up but as it's a reusable rocket will fly back down to its Landing Pad just 2 miles north from which it takes off um and it's uh it's it's a really beautiful vehicle to watch it work uh in in in in real life um and so that is what we're about to check out here let's tune into the rocket as she gets ready for her 26 mission of this program the eth human space flight [Music] there you go you see those ains moving back and forth you see two out of the four waiting for the engine [Music] gimbal there you go peeking out bottom left of your [Music] screen Jackie this rocket is looking good and ready for launch this morning [Music] you see the Gantry has retracted these astronauts are going to space with that I'm going to turn it over to our mission control team godspeed new Shepherd and enjoy the flight astronauts see you when you get home 109 7 5 4 just start 2 [Music] 1 sheer has cleared the tower There She Goes new shepher has cleared the tower on its way to space oh my fuing Lord look at this with it crew of six they are screaming up towards the Carmen line you can see the speedometer on your bottom left there as well as the altimeter and we're going to follow along with the flight on the left side of your screen with those Milestones first one coming up here is Max [Applause] Q wow [Applause] [Music] [Applause] yeah Max Q has been confirmed maximum Dynamic pressure it's when the forces on the vehicle between the atmosphere and the speed are at their are maximum we've punched right through it as well as punch through that layer of clouds the vehicle continues on its upward Ascent toward space if you are just joining us we've had a clean liftoff of new Shepherd's 26 flight in this program we are witnessing the eighth human space flight of new Shepard We Have astronauts 38 through 43 on the vehicle on its way to space our next Milestone here is main engine cut off and what we'll witness is the speed will start to come down but the uh the Exel excuse me the the altitude will continue to go up when the speed hits zero means we have hit apigy and Jackie I think one of the other cool part of this program is that we slow you see that kind of slight little hot dog roll we got going on of the rocket we just want to give what it's really is just to give the astronauts each 360° view as they're going up which is so cool all right main engine cut off and separation have been confirmed and Jackie this is when our our astronauts are feeling zero g Dr Rob furl is going to start his his experiments up there in the cabin hopefully after a little time to look out the window pre- experimentation I would totally steal at least a couple of looks out of the big gorgeous windows and again we're coming up on apigy you see that the speed is reducing when it hits zero that's when we've hit that is when we've hit ape at this point we are well over the Carmen line about 328,000 or 100 K 328,000 ft or 100 km up and there it is apigy about 340,000 ft Jackie can you imagine the view I was talking about being jealous of your ass Astronaut training but I'm more jealous of them right now know they're unbuckled at the moment they are turning their somersaults they are soaking it in they are you know we're witnessing six people having their minds blown right now as we speak but the booster is heading on down and it will beat the the capsule back to Earth the booster of course has a controlled landing on a landing pad just 2 miles north of where it's taken off from from the capsule less aerodynamically shaped will uh will land second under three parachutes uh in our uh Landing Zone in our Valley in West Texas so far a nominal flight of our 26 mission to space and back of the new Shepard vehicle plus our eighth human space FL congratulations truly to all six of our astronauts today oh I'm sorry our crew who officially have become astronauts massive congratulations over the Carmen line W Phoenix report status Phoenix report status Phenix Phoenix uh four five and [Music] six heard all six astronauts are back in their seat and the booster is screaming on home yeah as we mentioned that booster is going to return to Earth a lot faster than the capsule because of the aerodynamic nature of the crew capsule this coming back to the clouds that's a sweet view of the booster as it's coming back through the atmosphere here so we see the drag braks have been deployed there's the relight of that be3 engine that gorgeous hover Above The Landing Pad and booster touchdown a successful touchdown of the booster for the NS 26 Mission always a sight to see always a sight to see really I mean it's been going thousands of miles per hour and then it comes in landing you see it just kind of hovers there at 5 miles an hour it's such a smooth descent and it's and landing and to as a as a reminder to people this is so critical to the reusability because the the smoother The Landing the less you jostle the rocket the less you have to refurbish the rocket the more you can more uses you can get out of the rocket absolutely and some some really cool things here right like those fins you were talking about earlier our lessons learn with guiding this vehicle back are going to be applied to our next big vehicle new Glenn so again just so many Lessons Learned From This booster every single Mission every single Mission now the the crew capsule is obviously also coming back down to land here uh we are going to have first the drog parachutes that come out those are kind of like the guide parachutes then we're going to see the mains they will Reef so they're going to kind of go out just a little bit and then they fully inflate and talking about cutting speed you can already see the speed on the the on the the screen there it comes in at just like 15 16 miles an hour for nice there she is and again these parachutes both the drugs and the mains are essential in providing a gentle touchdown for the capsule but as we get closer to the ground here you're going to see a retro thrust system on the base of the capsule um which does kick up a bit of West Texas dust but it makes for an even smoother touchdown then again you know like you said the already slow speed that the capsule is descending at now we're just four 100 ft away from touchdown again stay tuned for that retro thrust system here and crew capsule touchdown welcome home to the newest six astronauts the blue steel team once more what appears to be a completely smooth flight for new Shephard uh our booster touching down at the at The Landing Pad in a soft Landing for our latest crew just a beautiful flight up and back I mean that is just one of the the the cleanest flights I've seen from this rocket but behind every rocket is an extraordinary team so a big shout out to the entire new Shephard program what a beautiful flight today and another congratulations ations to the six newest astronauts what a day it has been now our capsule uh recovery team is currently going to be driving out to the Convoy to meet the capsule they're going to Safe the the capsule and get ready to open the hatch and welcome our astronauts back home and that Convoy includes obviously you know the vehicle team the new Shepherd professionals but also the family members of our crew who without a doubt are excited to reunite with their loved ones their newly minted astronauts I you know we saw it earlier in in one of the videos but some of those hugs when their astronauts come back to earth are probably some of the most memorable biggest hugs in a lifetime there there's some mean hugs those are some mean hugs we've captured some mean hugs on these uh on these webcasts well so talking about friends and family you know we talk these people have dreamed of going to space for a long time but with those sorts of Dreams Come friends and family that support in so many ways emotional and otherwise um and on that note while we're waiting for the recovery crew to make it out to the capsule we were able a couple of days ago to have a chat with a very special former astronaut and someone who's got uh a tight connection with one of today's crew let's hear what ns20 astronaut Jim kitchen had to say about what this experience is like like for astronauts as well as what his daughter Carson kitchen may be experiencing right now all right we've got a very special guest with us today from our ns20 crew Jim kitchen welcome back how's it feel to be uh down in West Texas once again it's exciting to be here to watch another space launch and uh here at the iconic El capiton hotel in lovely Van Horn Texas well he this isn't just any you know space launch there's somebody very special going up tell me about her this is a special launch um when she was a little girl my daughter Carson she told me definitively that she's GNA be an astronaut and here we are 15 years later and she's actually gonna be an astronaut in a uh you know going to space in a in a couple of days how you obviously you're very proud Dad what's it's there's got to be a lot of contradicting thoughts going through your head right now what are you feeling yeah well put um it's it's emotional her mom and I um are here her family's coming or friends are coming it's emotional um to see someone that's wanted to go to space and is actually you know a dream come true and you know to to be able to to have that dream to to f have it fulfilled is is amazing but you know I think about Alan Shepard in 1961 going to space and then his daughter Laura Shephard doing that after you know it's it's surreal to think that she and I are are gonna be you know have that in common um but it's um you know such mixed feelings on this because it's exciting but you know we're also you know watching watching this in with anticipation yeah that's your baby that's my baby so um have you spoken to Carson uh since she started her her training what what's going through her head the these days at this moment it's one thing to be thinking about it when you're back at home it's another thing once you get to Van Horn you know it's real yeah I saw her last night and she's really excited she's a very positive person um she looked at me and said dad of all of the people that have ever lived on this on this planet and we talked about that number it was uh 110 billion people uh that she gets an opportunity to go to space and she's dumbfounded by that we were looking at the Stars last night at the astronaut Village and she said you know people since the dawn of humanity have wanted to go to space and to actually be able to do that uh be one of the first 700 uh there's only been a hundred women 100 or so women that have have done that and so for her to be one of the the youngest women and the actually the youngest woman to go past the kmen line is surreal um but you know she's she's all business she can't wait till till uh launch day and um but she's just having the time of her life she hugged me a couple times and it's just like I can't believe this is happening uh but she's excited and very confident amazing well talking about all business um your daughter Carson has found an amazing organization called orbitel do you want to talk to us a little bit about uh about the organization and its mission in general what she wants to do is just encourage young women to pursue Jackie as we just saw Jim kitchen a very proud father of his daughter Carson kitchen one of the newest astronauts we have here and what we see on the screen we've got our uh our recovery crew the first person that ran out there was Sarah Knights uh our crew member seven what she does first is she she runs around the capsule to each one of the six Windows to each one of the six astronauts gets the thumbs up and uh make sure everybody is is happy and uh and safe and then the the rest of the team comes in you've seen passing in the background the the the rivan trucks there goes another one those are filled with uh with friends and family that are going to join here in a moment of course first thing is safety need to make sure that the capsule uh you know has vented whatever it needs to vent uh and that we're you know we've taken the the the lines of the parachutes off and then next what you'll see is somebody will bring over uh the stairs to put under the hatch to put next to the hatch it is about it's about a meter it's about 3 feet the bottom of the hatch from the base of the um sorry the base of the hatch to the ground itself so makes for a more comfortable uh egress for our astronauts as they come home the capsule there seems to have found a really nice Clear Spot in our desert to land how how convenient I've been out there with the team trying to detangle the parachute lines from the brush that's out there and that is if you like taking out knots if you're one of those those odd people that really enjoys that and finds that I'm not one of those either stress relieving you should come join our team um but no not today it is a um a nice clean Landing of the the crew capsule you see the stairs have been put there so we're just moments away here from the ESS of our astronauts and the welcome home from their friends and family let's take a look e for cover flight [Music] [Music] Peter for status of C manualing welcome back everybody to new Shepard's 26 mission to space and back if you miss it a completely nominal and successful flight of both the booster you see it nicely standing standing proud in the background a spectacular View and capsule with its ride in the background there it's great and the in the foreground uh a very happy capsule there uh we are our safety crew is uh safing the vehicle making sure everything is vented making sure the parachute uh lines are detached we've have the stairs that are all set up there we're waiting for the astronauts to uh to egress we've got the additional vehicles that are rolling in here with friends and family and inside that capsule Jackie we've got six of the newest astronauts I mean just it's this view for me never gets old I've been here 10 years this is the eighth one of these we've done more than 40 astronauts we've supported going to space god there are those family and friends getting over there getting ready to for those big hugs that we were talking talking about a big congratulations to Carson kitchen who has become the youngest female to cross over the Carmen line the internationally recog recognized line of space at 100 kilometers up and also just a huge congratulations to Dr Rob furl and his entire team at the University of Florida plant lab which is so amazing he's the first NASA funded researcher to Journey on a commercial suborbital vehicle again I can't wait to to read that research paper and Jackie we've talked about it um earlier in the show one of the things that's so cool about new Shepard is we've done payloads we've done uh human space flight we're now combining the two for T admissions it serves at a as a perfect pipeline for the science Comm Community from around the world to fly their experiments and their technology up to space you get sure you get a couple of minutes of zero g up in space by the way we can also put as um put experiments mounted on the outside of the capsule if you want exposure to to uh to the vacuum of space yeah we've we've actually flown some really cool um lunar Landing sensors mounted on the exterior of the booster when we get that you know re-entry data it's super helpful for those type of payloads as well it's super helpful and you know sometimes you don't necessarily need the full flight to the International Space Station which is very cool and oftentimes what you do need but in building up to that flight to the ISS start with a a new sheer launch Which is less expensive you get your science back immediately you can do it again and then get ready to go to fly so you know this is the first I hope of many many human intended uh experiments to go on new Shephard Jackie I was just looking at the capsule one of the things that um that stands out to me I've watched a lot of these lounes and landings is man the capsule picked a really nice Clear Spot in the desert I've I've been out there with the team when these parachute lines get all you know Tangled Up up in the brush and there are some really nasty Pokey plants out there and um I don't know if you're if you're one of those those people that enjoy undoing knots I'm not I don't even like untying like a knot in my shoelace so I'm definitely not one of those people yeah uh then you know come join us for that parachute crew but here we go hatch is open welcome back astronauts I [Music] some yeah [Music] [Music] [Applause] seeing a lot of smiles a lot of jubilance here oh that is love that is emotion how you feeling yeah you see the families Jackie we talked about it you know this might be the astronaut's dream but the support that that they that they need and they get from these family and friend member family members and friends that are down there that's you know you have astronauts that are having emotions that they've never felt but to see your loved one come back from an experience like that right and like we said earlier space flate on new Shephard has kind of become a family affair so seeing that hug between new Shepherd astronaut Jim kitchen and his daughter Carson really just such a special moment really hitting that that point home in a very unique way so we've seen all six of our astronauts come out again absolutely jubilant we saw Dr Rob furl put his univers University of Florida had on representing um as you said I can't wait to to read the his research paper on his findings yeah I don't think I've read something like that since um high school biology but I am ready now is now is my time and I will tell you when I learned about it in high school they weren't talking about something like what Rob just did um and so I'm very very excited for what's to come out of that and the potentially huge impact on science and research is just so exciting yeah it is it it's wonderful what what boundaries a program like new Shephard can press forward obviously we're looking forward to the the Next Generation which is new Glenn our big orbital rocket that will be launching for the first time later this year um and all the doors that it's going to open absolutely and and again you know really the lessons learned from new Shepard are so applicable to everything we've been doing on New gland we mentioned the fins earlier as just an example but even with Mission operations right conducting a mission like NS 26 all of those Lessons Learned are directly applicable to our mission operators for new Glenn here in just a few months in just a few months and I mean I I I can't wait for that day Jackie that is I mean think about the emotion that we're feeling here today I'm going to make an analogy please bear with me it's going to be a bit tortured here I'm ready for it 110,000 lb of thrust on the be3 engine you take that and you multiply multiply by 35 3.85 million pounds of thrust on the base of the new Glenn rocket now you're doing math so over the course of this webcast we've hit biology chemistry and Mathematics so I just wanted to acknowledge that hting we're hit all those steam landmarks we are but you know that is the like it it is going to be at at least 35 times as you know as exciting and the rumble that's going to happen down there at the cape I mean it is going to be huge it is going to be absolutely huge um you know and by the way just like new Shepherd it will evolve to take humans on board and this same emotion you're going to see that after after astronauts have gone to space gone to the Moon I mean it's um what what we're doing here at Blue origin is um no I just feel very fortunate to be part of the part of the program part of the company yeah I have to tell you Arian back um eight years ago when I about eight years ago when I joined blue the the real you know thing that that tipped it over for me was the people here at Blue and you were one of them back in the day oh stop truly still our for this day so thank you Ari it just didn't take you very long aw no it didn't take you long at all the contrast between you I mean you kind of black out yeah I did I did so much so fun that was am welcome astronaut it's great that was [Music] and then it becomes just yeah so they're getting a couple of insights from Carson kitchen obviously the audio is a little a little patchy out there help were you yelling like I didn't hear the final number did you see the final number us we'll find out I'll find out what was it like was pretty good it was well the ride the ride was incredibly smooth and I was so impressed with the ride up but being there the darkness of space you can't there's no way to talk about it there's no way to talk about how how impressive space is in the earth below this is again yeah understanding this audio is a little shaky here but again we'll get all of these amazing reactions on our socials clearly so staying tuned for that after everything worked the way it was supposed to the hours you weeks and months of preparation all went real well everything is good that's great couldn't have been a better experience thank you for helping us pathf find what this looks like moving forward you bet there's there's there's room and opportunity for scientists of all sizes shapes and ages to do this they really should there's a lot and a lot of opportunity in a ride like that thanks for flying around congratulations well if you're looking for a testimonial for the future of human tended research on new Shepard I uh couldn't have said it better myself so there it is from Dr Rob furl what just an absolutely incredible day for all of us and especially for our crew on board NS 26 Carson kitchen nicolina elrick Rob furl Iman Jan gear Eugene grin and F from rabine it was a absolute honor to fly you to space today if you listening in you watching would like to follow in the pioneering footsteps of these astronauts and purchase the seat on a Future ride to space visit blue origin.com and click fly to space pretty straightforward there right keep it easy your own journey to visit the Carmen line is closer than you think and if you would like to purchase a mission patch to commemorate today's launch heads to the blue origin shop for patches and a lot more uh sweet gear here's that patch if we can get it on screen here for today's there you go for today's flight which is what our astronauts you saw it on their suit that green color and the plants ascending and spiral lines representing the living organ organisms that Rob furl had in his experiment the continuous loop represents efim rabin's career and supply chain the heart represents Dr Iman Jang Gear's career as a cardiologist the spiral line toward space represents Eugene grin's passion for travel and the children at the bottom represent Carson kitchen and nicolina El's childhood dreams to go to space but they also represent club for the future's mission to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue steam careers now if you want to join us and build a road to space we have hundreds of positions open across all of our facilities across the US you see it there including machinists programmers from Florida to Alabama to uh our headquarters up in the state of Washington just visit our website for more details at Blue or.com careers everybody thank you so much for joining us my name is Arian Cornell Jackie it was a pleasure to have you uh here at the desk with me always a pleasure Arian and with our third webcast and with our third future uh third webcaster here the future astronaut thank you so much for joining us until our next launch G Autumn ferociter have you ever dreamed of going to space and gazing back on Earth through some of the largest windows that have ever flown in space we certainly have 10 a once-in-a-lifetime journey is closer than you think it's your time to join the new generation of [Music] astronauts to book your flight visit blue.com and click fly to space tell us as much as you can about yourself we welcome you to the final frontier [Music]