After a two-year hiatus due to a rocket malfunction in September 2022, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin New Shepard-25 (NS-25) mission successfully launched on May 19. This mission, marking the seventh human flight and 25th launch in the New Shepard program’s history, featured a six-person crew including Indian-origin entrepreneur and pilot Gopichand Thotakura.
Alongside Thotakura, the crew included former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, who became the first Black astronaut candidate in the United States and, at 90 years old, the oldest person to travel to space. The mission also included Mason Angel, founder of venture capital firm Industrious Ventures; Sylvain Chiron, founder of French craft brewery Brasserie Mont Blanc; software engineer and entrepreneur Kenneth L. Hess; and Carol Schaller, a retired Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
The successful launch of the New Shepard-25 mission marks a significant milestone for Blue Origin and the commercial space industry, demonstrating the company’s ability to safely and reliably transport humans to space. The mission also underscores the growing diversity of space exploration, with Thotakura representing the first Indian-born individual to travel to space.
