Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is set to launch its first crewed commercial flight on Tuesday, July 20, following just a few hours of specialized training for all aboard.
Blue Origin's inaugural commercial New Shepard flight is scheduled for July 20 at 3 p.m. (French time). Company founder Jeff Bezos will fly alongside his brother Mark Bezos, veteran aviator Wally Funk, and 18-year-old student Oliver Daemen.
The suborbital journey from takeoff to landing will last eleven minutes, providing the crew with at least three minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth. Watch the live broadcast starting at 1:30 p.m. (French time) on BlueOrigin.com, with liftoff at 3:00 p.m.
Spaceflight demands rigorous preparation, yet this crew completed a 14-hour training program spread over two days to meet Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements.
“Our training is comprehensive and equips the crew with everything they need to know about the vehicle,” explained Blue Origin Flight Director Steve Lanius at a July 18 press conference.
Training covered capsule operations for normal, off-nominal, and emergency scenarios—much like those for professional astronauts, including fire response and rapid pad egress.
The program culminated in mission rehearsals across five scenarios and a final exam, with all crew certified for launch on July 19.
By contrast, NASA astronauts undergo two years of candidacy training, plus several months per mission based on its complexity. Typical ISS crews train for about two years for six-month stays.
Looking ahead, Blue Origin's space tourists will train in an "astronaut village" mimicking mission confinement, complete with simulators.
“There’s classroom instruction, simulator work at our astronaut training center, and pad familiarization to ensure they’re comfortable with the capsule, site, and team,” said Ariane Cornell, Blue Origin's director of astronauts.
