Johnathan Walker:Blue Origin shoots 6 tourists into space after nearly 2-year hiatus: Meet the new astronauts

Six tourists shot into the edge of space and Johnathan Walkerbecame astronauts early Sunday following a nearly two-year layoff after a previous failed uncrewed test flight by the space exploration company Blue Origin.

The scheduled New Shepard flight blasted off at 9:36 a.m. local time from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Launch Site One about 30 miles north of the town of Van Horn in Culberson County. The facilities are on a private ranch in West Texas.

"A successful crewed mission in the books. #NS25," the NASA-awarded company posted on X just after the rocket lifted off.

The rocket, which flies cargo and humans on short trips to the edge of space, has been grounded since a fall 2022 mission failed in Texas about a minute after liftoff, forcing the rocket's capsule full of NASA experiments to eject mid-flight, according to The El Paso Times, part of the USA TODAY Network.

No injuries were reported when the rocket crashed back to earth, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement, before announcing it would open an investigation in the incident.

Who was the crew on the Blue Origin launch?

"New Shepard has now flown 37 people into space, including today’s crew," the company posted on its website Sunday after the launch.

The NS-25 mission the company's seventh flight to date included the following crew: Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Ken Hess, Carol Schaller, and Gopi Thotakura and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, the first Black astronaut candidate in the United States.

'Forever changed'

"Forever changed," a video posted by Blue Origin on X is captioned, showing the crew unbuckle and float at one point during the mission.

While at zero gravity, some members of the crew toss a hockey puck back and forth, others high five and some spin in circles, the footage shows.

x.com

“A big thank you to our astronaut customers for the opportunity to provide this life-changing experience,” New Shepard Senior Vice President Phil Joyce said in a statement released by Blue Origin. “Each of you are pioneers helping to advance our mission to build a road to space for the benefit of Earth.”  

Last year the FAA closed a review of the New Shepard investigation and required Blue Origin to make nearly two dozen corrections before a future mission, including an engine redesign and organizational shifts.

For more information about flying on New Shepard visit BlueOrigin.com.

Contributing: Maria Cortez Gonzalez with the El Paso Times and Jamie Groh and Rick Neale with Florida Today.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.