TEXAS — Blue Origin successfully launched its 10th crewed flight from Launch Site One in West Texas on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

The New Shepard launch window opened at 10:30 a.m. ET (9:30 a.m. CST), but was held during countdown and lifted off at 10:50 a.m. ET.

Six people were on board the NS-30 mission, including Lane Bess, Jesús Calleja, Elaine Chia Hyde, Dr. Richard Scott, Tushar Shah, and an undisclosed sixth crew member, the company said.

This was the 30th flight in the history of the New Shepard program, which has launched 47 humans above the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. 

Blue Origin Introduces the Crew

Lane Bess is the founder of Bess Ventures and Advisory, a family office fund supporting technology firms that innovate and disrupt across multiple market sectors. He serves as a Trustee at Carnegie Mellon University and supports philanthropic interests across health and social issues, according to the company. Bess is the fourth astronaut to fly on New Shepard for a second time. He first flew to space aboard NS-19 on Dec. 11, 2021. 

Jesús Calleja is a Spanish TV host, mountaineer, pilot and lifelong adventurer that has taken him to the Seven Summits, the North and South Poles, numerous deserts, active volcanoes and ancient sinkholes. He is also a race car driver and has participated in numerous international racing competitions, according to the company. 

Elaine Chia Hyde is an entrepreneur, physicist, and pilot. She is the founder of Chicago Star, a news and media company, and Eastside Enterprises, a research and development company focused on AI-assisted media products. In school she studied business and physics with the goal of inventing experiments to be conducted in space, according to the company. She later became a research scientist and lives in Florida with her husband and their five children.

Dr. Richard Scott is a reproductive endocrinologist, embryologist, professor, research scientist, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and avid pilot. He was a founding partner and CEO of IVIRMA Global, the world’s largest fertility care group with clinics and laboratories in 10 countries, according to Blue Origin. He also serves on the boards of Directors of the Resolve and the American Fertility Associations. 

Tushar Shah is a partner and the co-head of research at a quantitative hedge fund in New York City. He studied physics as an undergraduate at MIT and high energy experimental particle physics for his PhD, according to Blue Origin. He and his wife, Sara, are philanthropists focused on addressing issues related to poverty, health, and education. 

NS-30 mission patch. (Courtesy: Blue Origin)

Blue Origin also released the patch for this mission that include symbols representing the crew members: 

• The mountain represents Spanish mountaineer and adventurer Jesús Calleja, who has climbed the world’s Seven Summits.  
• The airplane and clouds represent Jesús Calleja, Elaine Hyde, Dr. Richard Scott, and Tushar Shah, all of whom are pilots.  
• The dove with the olive branch represents Jesús Calleja and Lane Bess’ hope for peace for all. 
• The Southern Cross represents Elaine Hyde’s Australian and Singaporean heritage.  
• The Roman numeral II along the bottom edge represents Lane’s second flight.  
• The winding road on the mountain leading to the crew capsule represents the road to space each of the crew’s astronauts have taken.

The launch comes nearly two weeks after Blue Origin announced it was laying off 10% of its employees. The reasons for the layoffs were that Blue Origin grew and hired fast over the years, and the company lost its focus, according to CEO Dave Limp, who has been the CEO of the Washington-state based company since 2023.

In January, Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket in its maiden flight, although its first-stage booster failed in its landing.