Blue Origin is planning two more passenger flights this year after the successful launch of the first flight. The first spaceflight also saw founder Jeff Bezos and three other crew members flying to the edge of space on July 20.
Ariane Cornell, Blue Origin’s director for astronaut and orbital sales, has spoken about the future plans of the company during a news conference. The company is yet to announce the per-seat pricing and other details about the launch date, but Cornell said she has been in talks with some potential participants who placed bids on the fourth seat on the New Shepard’s first flight.
“Since the auction on June 12, I’ve had the good pleasure of speaking on the phone with many of the participants from the auction, who now have been quickly filling up seats for the next several launches,” Cornell said. “Sales are open, everybody!”
New customers already lined up
The anonymous winning bidder of the first flight, who shelled out $28 million, did not fly due to scheduling conflict and will be put on an upcoming flight, the company confirmed. The seat was instead given to 18-year-old Oliver Daemen, making him the first paying passenger on New Shepard after his father Joes Daemen.
Cornell also said that other bidders have “already signed up for the subsequent flights,” with two more expected in 2021 and “many more to come in the future,” she added. “We have already built a robust pipeline of customers that are interested.”
Blue Origin CEO Robert Smith hinted that the next crewed flight from the company could happen in September this year. Cornell added that Blue Origin hopes to work with NASA to ferry astronauts on its commercial spacecraft.
New Shepard to continue operations
Blue Origin has been emphasizing its capability to fly above the altitude which competitor Virgin Galactic achieved in its debut flight to space. Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space plane reached a maximum altitude of 80 km, which is recognized as the space boundary by NASA.
Apart from commercial flights, New Shepard will also continue to fly to supply payloads to space for its customers. The company currently has two active spacecraft, one of which will be dedicated to fly people and the other for payloads.
