NEW SHEPARD

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 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.

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)

Blue Origin Strahan Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket launches carrying TV celebrity and former NFL football great Michael Strahan along with other passengers from its spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. Joining Strahan on the short space flight are Laura Shepard Churchley, the oldest daughter of America's first astronaut, Alan Shepard, as well as four paying customers. His eldest daughter, Laura Shepard Churchley, took along a tiny piece of his Freedom 7 capsule as well as mementos from his Apollo 14 moonshot. As soon as he emerged from the capsule, Strahan said he wanted to go again. Virgin Galactic kicked it off in July, sending up its billionaire founder, Richard Branson, followed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

Blue Origin Strahan Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket launches carrying TV celebrity and former NFL football great Michael Strahan along with other passengers from its spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. Joining Strahan on the short space flight are Laura Shepard Churchley, the oldest daughter of America's first astronaut, Alan Shepard, as well as four paying customers. His eldest daughter, Laura Shepard Churchley, took along a tiny piece of his Freedom 7 capsule as well as mementos from his Apollo 14 moonshot. “I thought about Daddy coming down and thought, gosh he didn’t even get to enjoy any of what I’m getting to enjoy," Shepard Churchley said following touchdown. Virgin Galactic kicked it off in July, sending up its billionaire founder, Richard Branson, followed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

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.

Here's everything you need to know about Blue Origin's launch of Laura Shepard Churchley and her crew on the New Shepard spacecraft on Dec. 11, 2021.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The first passenger to fly with Blue Origin on not just one, but multiple flights into space has retired to the home of Space Camp. Mannequin Skywalker was revealed at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.Nick Caplan, Professor of Aerospace Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northumbria University, NewcastleChristopher Newman, Professor of Space Law and Policy, Northumbria University, NewcastleIs space really the final frontier? William Shatner has found out after boldly going where no 90-year-old has gone before. Some 55 years after Captain James T Kirk hit our screens in the original "Star Trek," Shatner recently launched to the edge of space aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard for a 10-minute suborbital flight.Shatner has become the oldest person to go to space, breaking the record set only recently by 82-year-old Wally Funk, who traveled on the New Shepard's first crewed spaceflight in July. Funk was one of the Mercury 13 women who qualified for spaceflight in the 1960s but never flew.With commercial spaceflight companies now taking older people to space, it's timely to consider the potential physical impact space flight might have on them.Video: Watch William Shatner gaze at Earth from space in awe

Shatner Space Launch Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket latest space passengers from left, Audrey Powers, William Shatner, Chris Boshuizen, and Glen de Vries raises their hands as they talks about snake bites during a media availability at the spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (LM Otero)Four people, including “Star Trek” actor William Shatner, traveled to space aboard a Blue Origin rocket on Wednesday morning. Its mission: encounter Earth from incredible views at apogee pic.twitter.com/Gzsnkv97K9 — Blue Origin (@blueorigin) October 13, 2021Shatner expressed awe after traveling to space on a Blue Origin rocket. READ: William Shatner travels to space aboard Blue Origin rocket“What you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine,” Shatner told Blue Origin and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos following the flight. I had no idea.”READ: William Shatner will fly to space aboard Blue Origin rocketExpand Autoplay Image 1 of 38 Shatner to space William Shatner, second from left, raises his hand while speaking with Audrey Powers, left, Chris Boshuizen, second from right and Glen de Vries raises during a media availability at the Blue Origin spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021.

We finally have our first look at William Shatner's first real trip to space after decades portraying a legendary "Star Trek" captain and it looks like the view was amazing.

Watch the moment William Shatner experienced the "overview effect" - an overwhelming sense of awe, unity, and vulnerability that astronauts describe.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin will launch its New Shepard rocket for the fifth time this year, carrying a crew that includes William Shatner.

William Shatner and three other passengers will launch into space today (Oct. 13) on the second crewed flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, and you can watch all the action live online.

For Audrey Powers of Blue Origin, a launch into space this week will fulfill a lifelong dream.

After a 24-hour delay due to high winds, the New Shepard rocket is now scheduled to lift off at 10 a.m. EDT (9 a.m. local time; 1400 GMT).

Soon-to-be astronaut William Shatner told CNN's Anderson Cooper that travelers can keep mementos they bring to space - but can't sell them.

Blue Origin has pushed the next launch of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle, which will carry Shatner and three other people, from Tuesday (Oct. 12) to Wednesday (Oct. 13) due to weather concerns.

Here's everything you need to know about Blue Origin's launch of William Shatner and his crew on the New Shepard spacecraft on Oct. 12, 2021.

Read live updates of William Shatner's launch into space on Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital spacecraft on Oct. 12, 2021.

A letter from 21 current and former Blue Origin employees says the company ignored safety concerns in favor of making the progress Jeff Bezos wants.

Jeff Bezos has called Blue Origin his life's most important work – and the hours he is devoting to the space company are growing as well.

Blue Origin followed Jeff Bezos' spaceflight with a successful research-only mission.

Blue Origin's launch was dedicated to science payloads.

Blue Origin Launch This image from video made available by Blue Origin shows the New Shepard capsule prior to launch of the rocket in West Texas on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (Blue Origin via AP) (Uncredited)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — (AP) — Blue Origin launched artwork painted on a capsule and a moon-landing navigation experiment into space Thursday, a month after sending founder Jeff Bezos on the company’s first passenger flight. Schoolchildren from Ghana tuned into the launch webcast, according to Blue Origin. The New Shepard rocket blasted off from West Texas on Blue Origin's 17th trip to space. Blue Origin offered no specific date Thursday for the next passenger flight, but reported nearly $100 million in ticket sales to date.

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

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin will launch its New Shepard rocket for the fourth time this year but Thursday's mission will not carry people inside the capsule.

Blue Origin made history on July 20, 2021 with the launch of its New Shepard rocket on its first crewed spaceflight. The launch, which lifted off from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in West Texas near Van Horn, carried the company's billionaire founder Jeff Bezos (of Amazon fame), his brother Mark Bezos, Mercury 13 aviation pioneer Wally Funk and 18-year-old student Oliver Daemen of the Netherlands, the first paying passenger on New Shepard. See photos from Blue Origin's historic spaceflight here and relive the company's milestone for private spaceflight. Related: Blue Origin's launch with Jeff Bezos: Everything you need to know

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) plans to introduce legislation called the Securing Protections Against Carbon Emissions Tax Act, which would impose new excise taxes on space tourism trips.

After a six-decade wait to launch off the Earth, newly minted space traveler Wally Funk is ecstatic and wants to go back.

Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin took Amelia Earhart's goggles, Skittles and aviation artifacts to space on New Shepard's first crewed flight.

Blue Origin plans to fly two more flights with paying customers in 2021 after founder Jeff Bezos and three other crew members made a debut trip on New Shepard Tuesday (July 20).

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.

About a week after Branson soared to an altitude just above 50 miles, Bezos reached just above 62 miles.

About a week after Branson soared to an altitude just above 50 miles, Bezos reached just above 62 miles.

Jeff Bezos, the founder and former CEO of Amazon, flew into space along with three others aboard the New Shepard rocket, made by his company Blue Origin. The spacecraft returned to Earth after less than 11 minutes. Video is courtesy of Blue Origin.

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

The Amazon founder became the second billionaire this month to reach the edge of space — following Richard Branson, who rocketed there aboard a vessel made by his company Virgin Galactic.

YouTubeThe world’s richest man was blasted into space on his own rocket Tuesday morning with his brother, an octogenarian aviation pioneer, and a Dutch teen who graduated high school last year.Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos lifted off at 9:11 a.m. ET alongside his younger brother (and volunteer firefighter) Mark, 82-year-old aerospace legend Wally Funk—who trained as an astronaut in the 1960s but never left Earth—and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen of the Netherlands, a paying cus

The founder of Amazon, who stepped down as CEO earlier this month, is scheduled to lift off early Tuesday with three crewmates on the maiden flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle.

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

Billionaire Jeff Bezos will launch into space in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship.

Blue Origin's founder Jeff Bezos, along with his younger brother Mark Bezos, Mary Wallace Funk and Oliver Daemen were passengers on the July 20 launch.

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and three crewmates received 14 hours of training over the last two days for their launch into space on July 20.

Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, is preparing to launch him on the company's first passenger flight on Tuesday.

For Blue Origin, this coming moment has been more than two decades in the making.

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.

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

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.

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

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin company has launched another capsule to the edge of space.

Blue Origin staff will conduct astronaut operations as if they were launching.

In this image from video made available by Blue Origin, the company's New Shepard rocket lands after a test flight in West Texas on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. (Blue Origin via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company launched a new capsule into space Thursday to test all the astronaut perks before people strap in. Thursday’s flight with a dummy named Mannequin Skywalker lasted 10 minutes and reached 66 miles (106 kilometers) above West Texas. Both the New Shepard rocket and the capsule landed successfully. It was the 14th flight to the fringes of space for a New Shepard rocket.

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket and capsule launch from the company's west Texas launch site on Jan. 14, 2021 marking the 14th suborbital flight for the company. (Image: Blue Origin)Blue Origin says it’s nearing its first human spaceflight with the company’s upcoming test flight from West Texas on Thursday. “We’re getting really close to flying humans, we’re getting there,” Blue Origin director of astronaut and orbital sales Ariane Cornwell said after the launch. While no humans were onboard the capsule, the company’s test dummy, Mannequin Skywalker will be in one of the six astronaut seats. Blue Origin is also developing a much larger heavy lift rocket called New Glenn that will launch from Cape Canaveral.

The sensors and computer — tested during the booster’s descent and touchdown — will hitch another suborbital ride with Blue Origin. Led by Amazon founder Bezos, Washington state-based Blue Origin is leading a team of companies to develop a lunar lander for astronauts. Tuesday’s launch was the first in nearly a year for Blue Origin: The pandemic stalled operations. Blue Origin said its staff is maintaining social distancing and taking other safety measures. Blue Origin said it needs a couple more flights before launching people — tourists, scientists and professional astronauts — on short hops.

Blue Origin is preparing to launch its New Shepard rocket to the edge of space from the company’s West Texas launch site, marking the seventh consecutive flight for this launch vehicle. Blue Origin last launched New Shepard in December. The first launch in nine months comes amid the coronavirus pandemic, as well as more testing and growth at Blue Origin. On this flight, Blue Origin’s rocket will carry technology for NASA designed to enable future moon landings. ET Thursday but after a short weather delay, Blue Origin scrubbed the launch attempt due to a power supply issue for the experiments on board.