1st New Zealander reaches space on Blue Origin flight

Blue Origin conducted its 12th human spaceflight on Saturday morning in West Texas, marking the first time a New Zealander traveled to space and returned. The flight took six passengers beyond the Karman Line, the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space, at an altitude of 62 miles. Among the passengers was Mark Rocket, an aerospace executive from Christchurch, New Zealand, who is the first citizen of his nation to reach space. Rocket, known for his passion for space travel, expressed his lifelong fascination with space technology and the vastness of the universe. He was excited about experiencing rocket-powered flight up to space. Rocket, who changed his surname in honor of his interest in space, is the president of Aerospace New Zealand and the owner of Kea Aerospace, a company developing a solar-powered aircraft for stratospheric data collection.

The remaining crew members included K-12 STEM teacher Aymette Medina Jorge, former Panamanian ambassador Jaime Aleman, radiologist Gretchen Green, businessman Jesse Williams, and entrepreneur Paul Jeris. The passengers enjoyed about three minutes of weightlessness and a unique perspective of Earth from space. After landing, Green described the experience as “perfection” and marveled at the view of space and Earth.

This 32nd successful spaceflight by Blue Origin’s New Shepard program, owned by Jeff Bezos, launched from Launch Site One in Texas. The reusable capsule and booster rocket separated during the flight, with the capsule using a propulsive system for a vertical landing. The program aims to transport humans and scientific payloads into space, offering customers the chance to view Earth from above and transform their perspective. Blue Origin’s New Shepard program has previously carried 64 individuals to space and back, including singer Katy Perry and CBS broadcaster Gayle King.