TEXAS — Despite a hold, Blue Origin launched a Central Florida couple and others into suborital space on Thursday morning. 

What You Need To Know

The launch was set for 9:10 a.m. Thursday from Launch Site One in West Texas, but it was placed on hold. In fact, there were a few smaller holds after the long one.

There was no word for the reason behind the holds, but the countdown resumed and the liftoff happened at 9:59 a.m. EST.

This is the fourth crewed mission to suborbital space.

Sharon and Marc Hagle were two of the four passengers on board the New Shepard rocket.

Sharon Hagle is the only female passenger and will be celebrating Women’s History Month as a proponent of STEAM education for young children.

Her non-profit SpaceKids Global is geared toward inspiring children into careers in science, arts and technology.

Marc Hagle is the president and CEO of Winter Park-based residential and commercial property development company Tricor International.

The couple have been active in the world of philanthropy in Central Florida for years. They established the Marc and Sharon Hagle Charitable Operating Foundation in 2014 and have supported a number of groups in the arts, sciences and other areas over the years.

Saturday Night Live cast member and standup comedian Pete Davidson was originally scheduled to be among the crew flying, but had a scheduling conflict and had to cancel.

Blue Origin offered the spot instead to Gary Lai, the chief architect behind the New Shepard rocket.

Joining the Hagles and Lai on Blue Origin’s fourth human flight in the New Shepard program are Marty Allen, the CEO of Party America; Jim Kitchen, a professor at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and Dr. George Nield, the president of Commercial Space Technologies, LLC and former associate administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Re-Watch the launch