Billionaire Founder Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin’s New Shepard Crew Launch Remains ‘Go’ For Launch on Tuesday in West Texas

By  //  July 19, 2021

Liftoff targeted for 9 a.m. ET

WEST TEXAS – Blue Origin’s New Shepard and billionaire founder Jeff Bezos are a go for launch on Tuesday, July 20.

Liftoff is currently targeted for 9 a.m. ET

Blue Origin will fly its 16th New Shepard flight to space, and its first with astronauts on board.

The launch will be broadcast live on BlueOrigin.com beginning at 6:30 am CDT / 11:30 UTC.

A normal New Shepard flight will be around 11 minutes long, and following the flight, the crew will participate in a press conference.

Blue Origin’s Launch Site One is in a remote location in the West Texas desert and there are no on-site public viewing areas in the vicinity of the launch site.

The Texas Department of Transportation will be closing a portion of State Highway 54 adjacent to the launch site and will not allow spectators on the closed portion of the road during the launch.

Oliver Daemen will be the first paying customer to fly on board New Shepard, marking the beginning of commercial operations for the program.

He will join Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, and Wally Funk aboard the first human flight on July 20.

At 18-years-old and 82-years-young, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk represent the youngest and oldest astronauts to travel to space.