Blue Origin to launch 6 people to space: When is liftoff, how to watch livestream
Blue Origin, the spaceflight company owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has announced that it is targeting liftoff Sunday, Aug. 3, for its next human spaceflight.
The commercial space venture is the same that grabbed headlines in April when pop star Katy Perry joined an all-women Blue Origin crew for a brief trip more than 60 miles high to the edge of space. The upcoming mission will be the New Shepard's third human spaceflight since that headline-grabbing launch and fifth overall in 2025.
This time, Justin Sun, a Chinese billionaire who made his fortune in cryptocurrency, will join five others for a similar journey. Once again, the group of space tourists punching a ticket for a seat on the spacecraft will experience something that most can only imagine: the feeling of weightlessness and stunning Earthly views from more than 60 miles high.
The rest of us will be able to watch it all happen — from the ground.
Here's what to know about the next Blue Origin launch, as well as how to watch a livestream of the mission.
When is the next Blue Origin rocket launch?
Blue Origin's next crewed launch, known as NS-34, could get off the ground as early as 7:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. ET) Sunday, Aug. 3, the company announced.
Where are Blue Origin launches?
Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launches take place from the company's private ranch facility known as Launch Site One. The facility is located more than 140 miles east of El Paso near the U.S.-Mexico border.
How to watch the Blue Origin New Shepard take off
Blue Origin will provide a webcast of the launch beginning about 30 minutes ahead of the scheduled liftoff on its website.
What is Blue Origin?
Billionaire Jeff Bezos, best known for founding Amazon, is the founder of the private space technology company Blue Origin.
Bezos himself even boarded Blue Origin's New Shepard for its maiden crewed voyage in July 2021, which came after the spacecraft flew on 15 flight tests beginning in 2012. For nearly four years since its first crewed mission, the New Shepard spacecraft has served as a powerful symbol of Blue Origin's commercial spaceflight ambitions amid a growing space tourism industry.
In addition to sending space tourists on brief joy rides to the edge of space, Blue Origin has also increasingly sought to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX for NASA's business, as well as the business of other private companies.
Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket, which flew on its inaugural flight test in January 2025 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is also due to launch again as early as August from Florida. At 320 feet tall, the spacecraft rivals SpaceX's 400-foot Starship in size.
Who is going on the New Shepard? What to know about NS-34
When the New Shepard gets off the ground again, the six people selected to board it will join 70 others who have flown on the spacecraft across 13 previous human spaceflights.
Here's a look at the passengers of a mission known as NS-34:
What happens during a New Shepard rocket launch?
Each spaceflight on a New Shepard vehicle lasts about 11 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown.
Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, the 60-foot-tall New Shepard rocket is topped with the gum drop-shaped crew capsule. The spacecraft operates completely autonomously, meaning no pilots are aboard.
During its ascent, the spacecraft reaches supersonic speeds surpassing 2,000 mph before the rocket booster separates from the crew capsule. At that point, those aboard the capsule become weightless as the spacecraft continues toward its highest point on its brief voyage above the Kármán Line – the 62-mile-high internationally recognized boundary of space.
While experiencing a few minutes of microgravity, passengers have the opportunity to unstrap themselves from their seats to gaze out the capsule's large windows and take in a stunning view of Earth.
Meanwhile, the rocket booster heads back to the ground while firing its engines and using its fins to slow and control its descent to land vertical about two miles from the launchpad.
The capsule itself eventually begins what Blue Origin refers to as a "stable freefall' – plummeting back to Earth as three massive parachutes deploy and the capsule makes a soft landing in the desert, sending up plumes of dust.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
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