On what date did Blue Origin’s New Shepard carry its first crewed passengers?

Blue Origin’s New Shepard carried its first crewed passengers on July 20, 2021.

The flight was designated NS-16 and launched from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas. Its four passengers were Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Wally Funk, and Oliver Daemen. Funk, aged 82, became the oldest person to reach space at that time, while 18-year-old Daemen became the youngest.

The autonomous New Shepard vehicle consists of a reusable booster and a pressurized capsule. It makes a suborbital flight, crossing the internationally recognized 100-kilometer Kármán line before returning to Earth.

July 20 also marked the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. The New Shepard capsule and booster landed separately after the brief flight, illustrating Blue Origin’s focus on reusable suborbital tourism rather than orbital transportation.