BLUE ORIGIN

The founder of Space for Humanity reflects on his Dec. 11 suborbital flight on Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft.

From suborbital space to high Earth orbit, space tourism is just getting started.

While SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have been sending rockets up at an increased pace the past several years, the Space Coast is about to get much busier with more commercial rocket companies set to join the launch party.

What does entrepreneurial space travel have in common with its more nation-focused counterpart, and what are the contrasts? ____MARCIA DUNN, AP aerospace writer since 1990:This year it was surreal to see ordinary people being escorted to the launch pad to blast into space. But this is the way forward, and it’s just really an exciting time to be covering the space program. Most famously, after the Bezos launch. ___Who wasn’t excited about Captain Kirk going into the into space at the age of 90, for goodness sakes?

Justin Sun, the founder and CEO of the blockchain platform Tron, announced today (Dec. 22) that he's the person who paid $28 million for a seat aboard Blue Origin's first crewed spaceflight.

The tech entrepreneur reveals himself to be the mystery winner of the company's auction with a $28 million bid, then announces plans to select five people to go with him.

Blue Origin revealed Wednesday that H.E. Justin Sun, a blockchain business founder from China and Grenada, placed the winning bid.

Laura Shepard Churchley is not sure if she is an astronaut. The daughter of America's first astronaut to fly into space, Churchley followed in her father's trajectory by lifting off with Blue Origin.

A former SpaceX employee has published allegations of serial sexual harassment experienced during her time at Elon Musk's company even as four other former employees are citing firsthand experience of being harassed or seeing harassment at SpaceX.

Laura Shepard Churchley is now the 372nd American to fly into space. Her dad was the first. Churchley followed in her father's flight trajectory by flying on board Blue Origin's New Shepard.

The successful launch was further proof of Blue Origin's concept: a fully autonomous, reusable joyride to space.

Pansexual Twitch streamer Cameron Bess fulfilled a lifelong dream to go to space on Saturday (Dec. 11) on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.

It's the most ambitious, complex space observatory ever built – 100 times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope, capable of seeing stars so distant, their light has been traveling for nearly 14 billion years. Correspondent David Pogue looks at the revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope, an infrared observatory whose scheduled launch next week will usher in a new era in our understanding of the origin and evolution of the cosmos.

With tiny footballs, cheers and wide smiles, Blue Origin's biggest crew of space tourists yet clearly had a blast on their trip to space this weekend.

The former NFL star and "Good Morning America" co-anchor Michael Strahan launched into space on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket Saturday (Dec. 11)

The sterling silver necklace, bearing the LLAP symbol, went aloft on a Blue Origin flight with the personal items of Laura Shepard Churchley.

Blue Origin successfully launched its first six-person crew into space on Saturday (Dec. 11), and in the process, set six new space records.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin sent another crew to space on Saturday, the company’s third human spaceflight and the first with a full contingent of six people.

Blue Origin Strahan This photo provided by Blue Origin shows, from left: Dylan Taylor, Lane Bess, Cameron Bess, Laura Shepard Churchley, Michael Strahan and Evan Dick. (Courtesy of Blue Origin via AP) (Uncredited)Football star and TV celebrity Michael Strahan hurtled toward space with Jeff Bezos’ rocket company Saturday, sharing the ride with the daughter of America’s first astronaut. Bezos — who saw the six off from the launch and landing complex near Van Horn — named his company’s New Shepard rocket after him. Bezos, who founded Amazon six years before Blue Origin, was on the debut launch in July. Blue Origin originally targeted Thursday for the launch, but high wind forced a delay.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is set to launch its New Shepard rocket for the sixth time this year on Saturday.

On Dec. 11, 2021, Blue Origin will launch former NFL football player and Good Morning America host Michael Strahan to space alongside five crewmates on the New Shepard rocket's NS-19 mission. Liftoff is set for 9:45 a.m. EST (1445 GMT) with a live webcast to begin at 8:15 a.m. EST (1315 GMT). Strahan will launch on a suborbital flight on New Shepard with Laura Shepard Churchley, eldest daughter of famed NASA astronaut Alan Shepard, and paying passengers Dylan Taylor, Evan Dick, Lane Bess and Cameron Bess.See the latest updates of Blue Origin's Michael Strahan launch here.

Blue Origin Strahan This photo provided by Blue Origin shows, from left: Dylan Taylor, Lane Bess, Cameron Bess, Laura Shepard Churchley, Michael Strahan and Evan Dick. (Courtesy of Blue Origin via AP) (Uncredited)Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, is about to send former NFL great Michael Strahan into space — with a football. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket is named for him. Bezos, who founded Amazon six years before Blue Origin, was on the debut launch in July. Blue Origin originally targeted Thursday for the launch, but high wind forced a delay.

NFL great Michael Strahan has rocketed into space on a Jeff Bezos rocket.

The 17-year-old program met its goal in raising awareness and the names will still be listed online, the agency said.

Laura Shepard Churchley is set to launch on a Blue Origin flight Saturday (Dec. 11).

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, they are no longer present commercial astronaut wings starting next year, too many people are launching into space. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File) (Tony Gutierrez)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — (AP) — Heads up, future space travelers: No more commercial astronaut wings will be awarded from the Federal Aviation Administration after this year. The FAA said Friday it's clipping its astronaut wings because too many people are now launching into space. The FAA' s first commercial wings recipient was in 2004. While they may not get wings, future space tourists will get their names added to the FAA's official commercial astronaut list.

Blue Origin successfully launched its latest passenger spaceflight on Saturday.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it will no longer give out commercial astronaut wings starting next year because too many people are launching into space.

Heads up, future space travelers: No more commercial astronaut wings will be awarded from the Federal Aviation Administration after this year. The FAA said Friday it's clipping its astronaut wings because too many people are now launching into space and it's getting out of the astronaut designation business entirely. The news comes one day ahead of Blue Origin’s planned liftoff from West Texas with former NFL player and TV celebrity Michael Strahan. All 15 people who rocketed into space for the first time this year on private U.S. flights will be awarded their wings, according to the FAA.

Saturday’s launch of six people to the edge of space aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft will be the 13th human spaceflight of the year, the most ever since 1985.

>> Read more trending newsStrahan, 50, who currently is a co-host on “Good Morning America,” will have to wait until Saturday before rocketing into space with five other passengers on Blue Origin, USA Today reported. The latest flight from Jeff Bezos’ space travel company is now scheduled to lift off at 8:45 a.m. CST from West Texas, Blue Origin said in a news release. JUST IN: The launch of @blueorigin #NS19, carrying the #NewShepard team including @michaelstrahan, is now delayed until this Saturday at 945amET due to forecasted winds. LATEST: https://t.co/lIiilhhTFS pic.twitter.com/zYaPhu9gwx — Good Morning America (@GMA) December 8, 2021“Astronauts will complete training today and weather remains as the only gating factor for launch,” the release stated. >> Michael Strahan will be on next Blue Origin flightAmong those joining Strahan on the 10-minute trip into space is Laura Shepard Churchley, the oldest daughter of America’s first astronaut, Alan Shepard.

TV celebrity and former football great Michael Strahan is going to have to wait another few days before rocketing into space. But on Wednesday, Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, Blue Origin, bumped the launch to Saturday because of high wind. But on Wednesday, Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, Blue Origin, bumped the launch to Saturday because of high wind. The six space tourists will launch aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, 60 years after its namesake's pioneering Mercury flight. It will be Blue Origin's third launch with people on board.

TV celebrity and former football great Michael Strahan is going to have to wait another few days before rocketing into space.

Laura Shepard Churchley is bringing more than memories of her father on her Blue Origin launch into space. She has packed a few special items that not only made the trip before, but went to the moon.

Investigators initially ruled out any mechanical issues with the engine of a Cessna 172 plane that went down in Hampton on Nov. 11, killing two.

NASA awarded a trio of companies with contracts to develop private space stations, as the agency prepares for the retirement of the International Space Station.

Blue Origin is planning an almost 90-acre project that will link to its factory at Exploration Park.

The world's second-richest man's rocket company has applied to modify an environmental permit to expand its factory at Kennedy Space Center.

Blue Origin another step closer to launch of New Glenn rocket with delivery of ‘pathfinder’ (Blue Origin)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — On Tuesday Blue Origin shared pictures of ‘pathfinder’, a mockup of its New Glenn rocket as it was delivered to Cape Canaveral. The full-sized model will allow Blue Origin to perform a series of tests in preparation for its New Glenn heavy lift rocket’s first launch. >>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<Read: Blue Origin to expand rocket manufacturing facility at Kennedy Space CenterNamed after pioneering astronaut John Glenn, the orbital-class launch vehicle is the first Blue Origin rocket to be built on Florida’s Space Coast. Read: First launch of Blue Origin New Glenn rocket delayed until 2022When complete, the heavy-lift launch vehicle is capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to Earth’s orbit and beyond. Read: Michael Strahan will be on next Blue Origin flightNew Glenn will lift off from launch complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station sometime in late 2022.

The next celebrity heading to space has been announced.

Blue Origin flight FILE PHOTO: This Jan. 19, 2020 file photo shows Michael Strahan before the NFL NFC Championship football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers in Santa Clara, Calif. Strahan will be among the crew on Blue Origin's next flight to space. The company said Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021 that the Good Morning America co-host, who just turned 50 on Sunday, will join Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Alan Shepard, on the flight. >> Read more trending newsStrahan announced on his show “Good Morning America” that he will be the next celebrity to board Jeff Bezos’s New Shepard spacecraft that sits atop the Blue Origin rocket. Four other paying customers will also be on the flight, which is the third made by Blue Origin this year. Previous coverage of Blue Origin:Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 10 New Shepard launch Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket sits on a spaceport launch pad near Van Horn, Texas, Tuesday, July 20, 2021.

The New Shepard flight in December will be Blue Origin's third with passengers and its first with a crew of six.

Sixty years after watching her father launch on the first American spaceflight, Laura Shepard Churchley will fly with GMA host Michael Strahan and four paying passengers on Blue Origin's New Shepard.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin raised its offer to cover NASA costs of an astronaut lunar lander, as the company battled in federal court.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin recently hired a lobbyist with ties to former President Barack Obama as new tax legislation looms.

Bezos previously said he sells $1 billion in Amazon stock annually to funding his rocket company Blue Origin.

Glen De Vries, co-founder of a tech company, took a 10-minute flight to the edge of space aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft with Shatner and two others. De Vries died in a crash on Thursday.

Blue Origin's New Shepard flight Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket latest space passengers from left, Audrey Powers, William Shatner, Chris Boshuizen, and Glen de Vries raise their hands during a media availability at the spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. The plane had taken off from Essex County Airport around 3 p.m. and crashed about an hour later, according to the news station. De Vries last month embarked on an 11-minute trip to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule alongside Shatner, former NASA engineer Chris Boshuizen and Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations, Audrey Powers. >> Related: William Shatner travels to space aboard Blue Origin rocket“I’ve been passionate about aviation and space for as long as I can remember, so this flight is truly a dream come true,” he said before the trip. We will truly miss Glen, but his dreams — which we share — live on: we will pursue progress in life sciences & healthcare as passionately as he did.”Officials with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the plane crash, according to WCBS.

Glen de Vries, one of the passengers who accompanied the "Star Trek" legend William Shatner on a Blue Origin spaceflight last month, was killed in a plane crash in New Jersey on Nov. 11.

Shatner Space Launch This photo provided by Blue Origin shows Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket space passengers from left, Glen de Vries, Audrey Powers, William Shatner, and Chris Boshuizen pose inside the capsule on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Blue Origin via AP) (Uncredited)HAMPTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — (AP) — A man who traveled to space with William Shatner last month was killed along with another person when a small plane crashed in northern New Jersey, according to state police. The aircraft had departed from Essex County Airport in Caldwell and was headed to Sussex Airport when the Federal Aviation Administration alerted public safety agencies to look for the missing plane around 3 p.m. He traveled Oct. 13 aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft, spending more than 10 minutes in space after launching along with Shatner and others. Fischer owned Fischer Aviation, a family-run flight school, and was its head instructor, according to public reports.

Glen de Vries traveled to space in October on Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft. Police say de Vries and a flight instructor died in the crash.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Artemis Moon mission has been delayed to 2025, according to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. The mission is expected to return astronauts to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Blue Origin sued NASA afterit gave the full contract to build the human landing system to SpaceX instead of funding both companies. According to NASA, the Artemis II mission includes sending astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft farther into space than any humans have traveled before, roughly 40,000 miles past the Moon, before returning home. But we’re NASA, and we’re rising to the challenge.”READ: NASA makes final preparations for rocket heading around the moon in FebruaryTo learn more about the mission, click here.

NASA has let go of its goal to return humans to the moon's surface by 2024.

Now that Blue Origin’s latest challenge was struck down by a federal court, NASA is moving ahead with SpaceX to resume work as quickly as possible, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.

NASA on Tuesday delayed its plans to return astronauts to the surface of the moon, announcing the agency is targeting 2025 for a crewed landing.

ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA will resume working with Space X to develop a modern human lunar lander. This comes after the U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied Blue Origin’s bid protest, upholding NASA’s selection of SpaceX to develop the Artemis Lunar Lander. NASA continues working with multiple American companies in order to foster competition and commercial readiness for crewed missions to the Moon. Read: NASA makes final preparations for rocket heading around the moon in FebruaryUnder the Artemis program, NASA plans to lead the world in landing the first woman and person of color on the Moon’s surface. Read: NASA confirms there is water on the moon that astronauts may be able to useThe Artemis mission will also conduct other operations on the Moon, including getting ready for human missions to Mars.

Tom Hanks isn't interested in Jeff Bezos' offer to go to space.

A federal judge has denied Blue Origin's protest of a multibillion-dollar NASA moon lander contract awarded to SpaceX earlier this year, the agency confirmed Thursday.

Blue Origin has lost the lawsuit it filed about a lucrative NASA moon-lander contract, freeing SpaceX up to resume its work on the project.

In "Space Titans," a new documentary launching today (Nov. 4), SpaceX founder Elon Musk shares the secret of his company's Falcon 9 rocket success.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Sierra Space announced Monday they are teaming up to build “Orbital Reef,” a new commercial space station.

"Captain Kirk" will have to wait a little longer before he can be beamed up to space.

Perhaps Captain James T. Kirk's adventures in "Star Trek" weren't so far from reality after all.

A group of more than 20 current and former employees are accusing Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin of being a toxic work environment and not following proper safety protocols.

The Federal Aviation Administration says Virgin Galactic can't launch anyone into space again until an investigation is complete into founder Richard Branson's off-course flight in July.

Blue Origin's launch was dedicated to science payloads.

Blue Origin has launched artwork painted on a capsule and a moon-landing navigation experiment for NASA into space.

A week after Blue Origin filed a lawsuit against NASA over its decision to award SpaceX a nearly $3 billion moon contract the space agency says it is voluntarily pausing work on the human lunar landing system until the legal matter is resolved.

Blue Origin is escalating its fight over NASA’s decision to award SpaceX a multibillion-dollar lunar contract.

Jeff Bezos has lost his appeal of NASA's contract with Elon Musk's SpaceX to build its new moon lander.

The GAO sided with NASA Friday denying protests submitted by Blue Origin and Dynetics of the agency's decision to pick only SpaceX's Starship for the first human moon lander contract.

Jeff Bezos is offering to waive $2 billion in payments if NASA selects Blue Origin's human moon lander for the Artemis program.

Zoe Seel last seen in Jacksonville.

The world’s richest man wanted to say thanks to the people who made his brief trip into space Tuesday possible.

Blue Origin shared a video of the weightless experience showing the four crew floating about the spacecraft and rejoicing at the views of Earth from the large windows.

Additional locations to offer shots next week.

Jeff Bezos blasted off into space Tuesday bringing along an aviation pioneer, a teen space fan and his brother, marking the first successful human spaceflight for his company Blue Origin.

A look at what to expect from Blue Origin's first New Shepard launch with people on board.

Jeff Bezos has made it into space, riding his own company's rocket.

For years, the official letterhead for the small town of Van Horn read simply: “Farming, ranching, mining.”.

When Blue Origin launches people into space for the first time, founder Jeff Bezos will be on board.

An 18-year-old will become Blue Origin’s first paying customer to fly to space, making him the youngest to go to space, the company announced Thursday.

An 18-year-old from the Netherlands is about to become the youngest person in space.

Amazon founder and soon-to-be-space traveler Jeff Bezos is donating $200 million to the Smithsonian Institution to boost its National Air and Space Museum.

Jeff Bezos' rocket company has gotten federal approval to launch people into space, himself included.

Virgin Galactic's shares have turned sharply lower after the spaceflight company said it’s made arrangements to sell up to $500 million in stock.

Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson's companies both will take tourists to the edge of space.

Two billionaires are putting everything on the line to ride their own rockets into space.

Two billionaires plan to both take their first spaceflights within days of eachother.

Wally Funk has waited decades to fly in space now she will get her chance flying with Blue Origin.

Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson is aiming to beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos into space by nine days.

Virgin Galactic finally has the federal government's OK to start launching customers into space from New Mexico.

Petitions to keep the tech mogul in space have garnered more than 100,000 signatures.

The price to rocket into space next month with Jeff Bezos and his brother is a cool $28 million.

The bidding for a ride on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is now closed at nearly $5 million.

Perks of founding a commercial space company: Getting to be among the first to fly.

The Amazon CEO says he will be flying on the first crewed flight aboard his Blue Origin rocket.

Jeff Bezos will blast into space next month on Blue Origin's first flight with a crew, becoming the first person in the world to ride his own rocket.

Virgin Galactic has made its first rocket-powered flight from New Mexico to the fringe of space in a manned shuttle, as the company forges toward offering tourist flights to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Blue Origin is set to reveal the highest bid so far in its auction for a seat on the company's first crew spaceflight.