Kent-based Blue Origin prepares for liftoff of its New Shepard rocket Feb. 4 in Texas. COURTESY VIDEO SCREENSHOT, Blue Origin

Kent-based Blue Origin prepares for liftoff of its New Shepard rocket Feb. 4 in Texas. COURTESY VIDEO SCREENSHOT, Blue Origin

Kent-based Blue Origin to launch 12th human flight May 31

Will be company’s 32nd flight overall of New Shepard program

Kent-based Blue Origin plans to launch its 12th human flight and 32nd overall of the New Shepard program on Saturday, May 31 in West Texas.

New Shepard-32 is scheduled to lift off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One. The launch window opens at 6:30 a.m. (PST).

To date, the program has flown 58 humans and more than 175 scientific payloads above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. The flight lasts about 10 minutes traveling approximately 62 miles into space and reaching speeds of up t0 2,238 mph.

Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, opened in Kent in 2000.

Blue Origin charges people to fly into space, but does not reveal the prices. Some people receive sponsored flights.

Meet the crew

• Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge

A high school and middle school STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas. Her seat is sponsored by Farmacias Similares, a Mexican company committed to social impact and accessible healthcare across Latin America.

• Dr. Gretchen Green

A radiologist specializing in women’s imaging with over 20 years of clinical experience. An educator, explorer, and lifelong space enthusiast, she first attended Space Camp in 1986, later worked as a Crew Trainer, chaired the Space Camp Alumni Association, and now serves on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation Board.

• Jaime Alemán

A Panamanian attorney, businessman, and former ambassador to the United States. A Notre Dame and Duke Law School graduate, he serves as a senior partner at Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, a law firm he co-founded in 1985, and sits on the board of directors of one of Panama’s largest private banks.

• Jesse Williams

A Canadian entrepreneur and adventurer. He started his first digital marketing business at age 16 and currently serves as CEO of Car History Group, which he founded in 2012.

• Mark Rocket

An entrepreneur and technology leader from Christchurch, New Zealand. He is CEO of Kea Aerospace, which develops solar-powered, stratospheric UAVs for aerial imaging and monitoring, and president of Aerospace New Zealand, whose mission is to promote the interests of the New Zealand aerospace community.

• Paul Jeris

A real estate developer and entrepreneur. Inspired by his NASA engineer father, he grew fascinated with space at a young age. He spent his childhood summers on Florida’s Space Coast, watching historic Apollo, Shuttle, Mariner, Voyager and Viking launches. His lifelong dream is to journey to space and witness Earth’s fragile beauty from above.


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