Blue Origin's next space-tourism flight includes TV host Emily Calandrelli
Blue Origin, the space exploration company founded by Jeff Bezos, has announced the crew for its next suborbital space tourism mission, NS-28. The six-member team includes television presenter and acclaimed author Emily Calandrelli, aka "The Space Gal," as well as two repeat customers, according to the company. The launch date for this mission is still undisclosed.
Meet the crew of NS-28
The NS-28 mission will be launched from Blue Origin's West Texas spaceport, Launch Site One. The crew for this mission includes Calandrelli, Marc Hagle, Sharon Hagle, Austin Litteral, James (JD) Russell, and Henry (Hank) Wolfond. The diverse team includes people from different professional backgrounds such as engineering, property development, finance and entrepreneurship.
Calandrelli's journey to space
Calandrelli is an MIT-trained engineer, science communicator, and writer. She rose to fame as the first American woman to solely host a nationally televised science series, Xploration Outer Space (2014-present). Blue Origin recognized her efforts in their statement saying, "Through her activism, she helped write a bill to improve the TSA's treatment of breastfeeding mothers and started a campaign which improved parental leave in the aerospace industry."
Repeat passengers and new faces on NS-28
The Hagles, who traveled together on NS-20 in March 2022, are back for this mission. Marc Hagle is the President and CEO of property development firm Tricor International while Sharon established educational non-profit SpaceKids Global. Litteral, a risk management professional in finance, won his seat through the "Whatnot to the Moon" giveaway sponsored by livestream shopping platform Whatnot.
Entrepreneurs joining the mission
The crew also features entrepreneurs Russell and Wolfond. Russell is the founder of InfoHOA, according to Blue Origin. Meanwhile, Wolfond is the Chairman and CEO of Bayshore Capital in Toronto.
Blue Origin's space tourism missions: A quick look
So far, Blue Origin has successfully flown eight crewed New Shepard missions. Each flight lasts around 10 to 12 minutes and takes passengers beyond the Karman Line, a point 100km high that many consider as the boundary between Earth and space. The company has not disclosed the cost for these space tourism tickets. Virgin Galactic, its main rival in suborbital space tourism, charges $450,000 per seat for a ride on its rocket-powered space plane.
