NS-28 is GO for launch

VaselineNovember 22, 2024

6 4 minutes read

New Shepard is GO for launch from Launch Site One tomorrow, November 22. The launch window opens at 9:30 AM CST / 3:30 PM UTC. The webcast at BlueOrigin.com/live begins at T-30 minutes.

Shepard’s new crewed NS-28 mission will launch on Friday, November 22

November 18, 2024

Blue Origin today announced that its ninth human flight, NS-28, will take off from Launch Site One in West Texas on Friday, November 22. The launch window opens at 9:30 AM CST / 3:30 PM UTC. The webcast on BlueOrigin.com starts at T-30 minutes.

Additionally, Blue Origin has released the NS-28 mission patch. A few of the embedded symbols include:

The color pink and the girl in the signature pink overalls represent Emily Calandrelli.
The center line in the “2” represents Sharon and Marc Hagle’s second flight on New Shepard.
The stars represent Austin Litteral’s vision of people among the stars.
The people at the bottom represent JD Russell’s hope for generations of people expanding their understanding of the world.
The wolf in the crew capsule window represents Hank Wolfond.

For more information about the crew, see our previous blog post below.

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New Shepard’s 28th mission includes Emily Calandrelli and two returning customers

November 15, 2024

Blue Origin today unveiled the six people flying on its NS-28 mission. The crew consists of: Emily Calandrelli, Sharon Hagle, Marc Hagle, Austin Litteral, James (JD) Russell and Henry (Hank) Wolfond. Sharon and Marc Hagle are both flying New Shepard for the second time.

This mission will be the ninth human flight for the New Shepard program and the 28th in its history. To date, the program has flown 43 people above the Kármán Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.

Portrait photos of the six NS-28 astronauts

Meet the crew

Emily Calandrelli

Emily is an MIT engineer, Emmy-nominated TV host, and #1 NYTimes bestselling author known as @TheSpaceGal to her nearly three million followers. With the premiere of Xploration Outer Space (2014–present), she became the first American woman to be the sole host of a nationally broadcast science series. Through her activism, she helped write a bill to improve the TSA’s treatment of breastfeeding mothers and started a campaign that improved parental leave in the aerospace industry. Emily is host of Netflix’s Emily’s Wonder Lab, Emily’s Science Lab on YouTube, and the author of nine books. Emily tries to inspire young people, especially little girls, to see themselves in STEM.

Sharon Hagle

Sharon is the founder of SpaceKids Global, a nonprofit she founded in 2015 whose mission is to inspire elementary school students to excel in STEAM education and ensure girls are equally represented. SpaceKids hosts several annual challenges designed to inspire children to pursue careers in the space industry, including national essay contests, sending science projects to the International Space Station and a partnership with Girl Scouts. SpaceKids also participates in Club for the Future’s Postcards to Space program. To date, Sharon has reached more than 867,000 students worldwide. Sharon and her husband Marc flew into space for the first time on March 31, 2022 on the NS-20, becoming the first married couple to launch on a commercial spacecraft.

Marc Hagel

Marc is president and CEO of Tricor International, a residential and commercial real estate development company. Under his leadership, the company has developed and owned more than 17 million square feet of real estate in the United States, including shopping centers, warehouses, medical facilities, recreational facilities, drugstores and office projects. Marc and his wife, Sharon, are avid philanthropists for numerous charities in the arts, sciences, healthcare and education. Marc flew to space for the first time with NS-20 on March 31, 2022.

Austin Literally

Austin works as a risk management professional in the financial services industry. He is a husband and father of two daughters. Austin spends his free time hiking in state parks with his family and cheering on the local sports teams. This trip will fulfill a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, having grown up with photos of NASA shuttle launches in his bedroom. Austin’s chair is sponsored by Whatnot, the largest livestream shopping platform in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. Austin won his place as part of the Whatnot to the Moon giveaway.

James (JD) Russel

JD is a serial entrepreneur and founder of InfoHOA, a leader in technology-based community management solutions. He was born to a military family at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, and earned the Billy Mitchell Award in the Civil Air Patrol. Before embarking on his entrepreneurial career, JD was a federal Marine, Fish and Wildlife law enforcement inspector. He established the Victoria Russell Foundation to honor the memory of his late daughter. The foundation is committed to supporting children’s education and outreach to families of first responders, and is a proud partner with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to instill a love of reading in children by donating free books to children.

Hendrik (Henk) Wolfond

Henry is Chairman and CEO of Bayshore Capital in Toronto, Canada. A lifelong aviator, Henry holds an Airline Transport Pilots license for fixed-wing aircraft and a Commercial Pilots license for helicopters. He serves as a professional pilot on charter flights, medevac flights and organ retrieval flights. Henry chairs the Confronting Antisemitism Committee of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and currently serves on the boards of directors of the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC), the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation (UHN Foundation), and on the Board of Governors for Hillel Ontario. Henry is also co-founder of the Autism Acceptance Project.

The flight date will be announced soon.