**A Nominal Flight to Space: New Shepard's Successful Launch**

Today was a historic day as New Shepard, the commercial spacecraft designed by Blue Origin, successfully launched its second human crew to space. The rocket, equipped with the Blue Engine 3 (BE-3) engine, lifted off from the West Texas desert and climbed towards an altitude of over 100 kilometers, marking the internationally recognized boundary of space. As the rocket soared into the sky, it was a sight to behold, with the capsule climbing steadily upwards while the booster stage continued its ascent.

**The Rocket's Descent and Landing**

As the New Shepard reached its maximum altitude, the main engine cut off, and the BE-3 engine shut down. The rocket then separated from the capsule, and the astronauts were finally free to experience weightlessness for the first time. The separation was a clean one, with the capsule drifting away from the booster stage as it continued on its journey towards apogee. The astronauts soon hit their maximum altitude of around 351,000 feet, marking the moment they officially entered space.

**The Descent and Re-entry**

After spending some time in orbit, the New Shepard began its descent back to Earth, with the drogue parachutes deploying first, followed by the main parachutes. The spacecraft touched down safely in the West Texas desert, bringing an end to a successful flight that had marked another milestone for space tourism. As the capsule landed, it was greeted with cheers from the recovery team and Blue Origin's founder, Jeff Bezos, who gave a thumbs-up of approval.

**The Astronauts' Experience**

As the astronauts stepped out of their capsules and took in the stunning views of the Earth below, they were struck by the beauty and fragility of our planet. William Shatner, the third person to go to space as part of Blue Origin's astronaut program, described his experience as "profound" and "extraordinary." He noted that the weightlessness was a strange but wonderful feeling, and that the view out the window was like nothing he had ever seen before.

**The Emotional Response**

For many people watching the launch and re-entry live from West Texas, it was an experience they would never forget. The sonic boom that accompanied the spacecraft's descent was a thrilling sound that echoed through the desert landscape. As the capsule landed safely back on Earth, it brought a sense of wonder and awe to all who had been following its journey.

**The Significance of New Shepard**

New Shepard is more than just a commercial spacecraft – it represents a new frontier in space exploration and tourism. With its successful launch and re-entry, Blue Origin has taken another major step towards making space travel accessible to everyone. As the company continues to push the boundaries of what is possible, one thing is clear: the future of space travel is bright, and New Shepard is leading the way.

**The Crew's Reaction**

As for the astronauts who traveled on the New Shepard today, they were beaming with pride and excitement as they reflected on their experience. Audrey Powers, William Shatner, Glenn Devries, and Chris Saito – the four-person crew – had experienced something truly special, and they knew that it was an experience they would never forget.

"We're just so grateful to have had this opportunity," said Audrey Powers in a statement. "It's an experience that's hard to put into words, but I think we can all agree that it was incredibly beautiful and profound."

William Shatner, who has always been known for his love of space and science fiction, described the experience as "the most profound experience" of his life.

"It's one thing to say 'oh, the sky is blue' and 'the Earth is round,' but what isn't true is that we have this experience, this feeling of weightlessness and freedom," he said. "It's like nothing I've ever experienced before."

As for the crew, they were thrilled to have had the opportunity to experience space travel, even if it was just for a short time.

"We did it! We're in space!" exclaimed Chris Saito as the capsule landed safely back on Earth.

"It was incredible," said Glenn Devries. "I've never felt so alive."

And for Audrey Powers, it was a moment she will never forget.

"I'm just so grateful to have been a part of this experience," she said. "It's something I'll always treasure."

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthere she is new shepard live on the launch pad preparing to take chris boshhausen glenn devries our very own audrey powers and captain kirk himself the legendary william shatner to space as noted today we're flying customers chris boshausen and glenda reese blue origins vice president of mission and flight operations audrey powers and of course cultural icon william shatner i do understand that our astronauts have made it into the rivians there they are and look who their chauffeur is none other than jeff bezos also in his flight suit uh jackie this makes me a little bit concerned uh you had a hypothesis that uh jeff might just stay on the rocket uh that's not the plan for today just to be very clear he's ready though if that opportunity arises and there they go chris boss housing glenn devries audrey powers and captain kirk himself william shatner have just started their journey to the launch pad into the crew capsule and off to space you can just i i have goose bumps i can feel their anticipation the astronauts are getting out of their rivien getting those smiles ready for that ring road crew photo if you've just joined us we are at t minus 33 minutes to go until launch our second human flight our astronauts are ascending the tower here as you can see and here they go there's glenn devries chris boshausen william shatner and audrey powers and today's special crew member eight jeff bezos and crew member seven sarah knights and there goes william shatner one last photo off before what a surreal moment captain james tiberius kirk is boarding our blue origin spaceship once crew member 7 is of course comfortable that all of our astronauts look at their smiling faces from those big beautiful windows once sarah makes sure all of our astronauts are ready to fly today and they close that that hatch of course we'll turn it over at that point to crewmember seven's other half kevin sprogue who'll be the voice from above the capsule communicator and there is jeff bezos closing the hatch jeff of course now an experienced space traveler himself and there goes the gantry retracting at t minus two minutes let's listen in minus ten nine eight seven six five four command engine start two one has cleared the tower she is on her space with the second human space flight crew what a launch we are on our way to max q the first milestone here on its flight to space you can follow along obviously with the altimeter at the base of the screen as well as the speedometer they are gaining speed on their climb to space we have confirmed max q this is when the mat the the aerodynamic stresses on the vehicle were at their maximum thank you again everybody for joining us live for new shepard's second human flight with audrey powers william shatner our customers glenda reese and chris bosshausen on board they are well on their way to space so far a nominal flight a clean burn on our blue engine 3 new shepard giving them a beautiful flight to space this morning the rocket is climbing towards an altitude we're aiming just over the carmen line the internationally recognized line of space of a hundred kilometers that is about 328 000 feet and a gorgeous view down the rocket and now we've had main engine cut off the be3 engine has shut off and in just a moment we're going to separate the capsule from the booster and at that point our astronauts will have the opportunity to get out of their harnesses and enjoy the beauties of zero g let's wait to listen and there you can see a clean separation between the capsule and the booster and there you can see the capsule from the top of the booster they are continuing their ascent over the carmen line you'll know when they hit apogee when the speed hits zero and there they are over 328 000 feet over 100 kilometers welcome to space the newest astronauts on board our crew capsule and there they are they have hit just about hit their apogee at about 351 000 feet and while we don't have apogee i can just imagine jackie they are having the time of their lives thank you again everybody for joining us live from west texas so far a nominal flight for our second human crew here we see the descent we are going to expect the be3 engine to re-light just about 3 600 feet or about 1200 meters above ground level let's wait for that now the drag brakes have deployed and here we come new shepard and touchdown welcome back new shepherd the fourth flight to space and back for that vehicle provided a beautiful flight to space for our second human crew wow that gets me every time we do this live down here in texas the sonic boom is so cool drag breaks are folding back in as have the wedge fins just looks like you could uh fuel her up and go again what do you think jackie and even when you know to expect the sonic boom it still catches you off guard every time talk about a rumble a beautiful sight of our new shepard rocket there in the west texas desert but of course the show is not over the capsule is descending we are waiting for first the drogue break excuse me the drogue shoots to deploy those are very much like the guide parachutes they will subsequently be uh followed by the uh the main parachutes that will fully that the full first reef and then fully inflate and there go the drogue parachutes and here come the mains what a flight you can already start to hear the cheers from outside the our our stage here in west texas that's unlike anything you'll ever feel stand by touchdown standby touchdown and capsule touchdown welcome back the newest astronauts audrey powers william shatner our customers glenn devries and chris poshausen what a day for you welcome back our recovery crew is out there and is about to open the hatch there is our founder jeff bezos giving the big thumbs up captain kirk himself the great william shatner comforter of blue that we have around we think oh that's blue sky and there's something you shoot through it all of a sudden and so you whip off a sheet off you when you're asleep and you're looking into blackness into black ugliness and you look down is there death i don't know is that death is that the way death is weapon it's gone jesus it was so moving to me this experience did something unbelievable you see yeah you know the weightless my stomach went up this is so weird but not as weird as the covering of bloom this is what i never expected oh it's one thing to say oh the sky and the thing and then fragile it's all true but what isn't true what is unknown is there's this pillow there's this soft blue look at the beauty of that color and it's so thin and you're through it in an instant it's one of them how thick is it is it a no i mean depends on how you measure because it thins out but maybe 50 miles but you're going 2 000 miles an hour so you're through 50 miles of whatever the mathematics fast yeah you know it's like a beat and a beat and suddenly you threw the blue and you're into black and you're into you know it's rods mysterious and galaxies and things but what you see is black and what you see down there is light and that's the difference and not to have this you have done something i mean whatever those other guys are doing what if what isn't they don't i don't know about that what you have given me is the most profound experience i could announce i'm so filled with emotion about what just happened i i just it's extraordinary extraordinarythere she is new shepard live on the launch pad preparing to take chris boshhausen glenn devries our very own audrey powers and captain kirk himself the legendary william shatner to space as noted today we're flying customers chris boshausen and glenda reese blue origins vice president of mission and flight operations audrey powers and of course cultural icon william shatner i do understand that our astronauts have made it into the rivians there they are and look who their chauffeur is none other than jeff bezos also in his flight suit uh jackie this makes me a little bit concerned uh you had a hypothesis that uh jeff might just stay on the rocket uh that's not the plan for today just to be very clear he's ready though if that opportunity arises and there they go chris boss housing glenn devries audrey powers and captain kirk himself william shatner have just started their journey to the launch pad into the crew capsule and off to space you can just i i have goose bumps i can feel their anticipation the astronauts are getting out of their rivien getting those smiles ready for that ring road crew photo if you've just joined us we are at t minus 33 minutes to go until launch our second human flight our astronauts are ascending the tower here as you can see and here they go there's glenn devries chris boshausen william shatner and audrey powers and today's special crew member eight jeff bezos and crew member seven sarah knights and there goes william shatner one last photo off before what a surreal moment captain james tiberius kirk is boarding our blue origin spaceship once crew member 7 is of course comfortable that all of our astronauts look at their smiling faces from those big beautiful windows once sarah makes sure all of our astronauts are ready to fly today and they close that that hatch of course we'll turn it over at that point to crewmember seven's other half kevin sprogue who'll be the voice from above the capsule communicator and there is jeff bezos closing the hatch jeff of course now an experienced space traveler himself and there goes the gantry retracting at t minus two minutes let's listen in minus ten nine eight seven six five four command engine start two one has cleared the tower she is on her space with the second human space flight crew what a launch we are on our way to max q the first milestone here on its flight to space you can follow along obviously with the altimeter at the base of the screen as well as the speedometer they are gaining speed on their climb to space we have confirmed max q this is when the mat the the aerodynamic stresses on the vehicle were at their maximum thank you again everybody for joining us live for new shepard's second human flight with audrey powers william shatner our customers glenda reese and chris bosshausen on board they are well on their way to space so far a nominal flight a clean burn on our blue engine 3 new shepard giving them a beautiful flight to space this morning the rocket is climbing towards an altitude we're aiming just over the carmen line the internationally recognized line of space of a hundred kilometers that is about 328 000 feet and a gorgeous view down the rocket and now we've had main engine cut off the be3 engine has shut off and in just a moment we're going to separate the capsule from the booster and at that point our astronauts will have the opportunity to get out of their harnesses and enjoy the beauties of zero g let's wait to listen and there you can see a clean separation between the capsule and the booster and there you can see the capsule from the top of the booster they are continuing their ascent over the carmen line you'll know when they hit apogee when the speed hits zero and there they are over 328 000 feet over 100 kilometers welcome to space the newest astronauts on board our crew capsule and there they are they have hit just about hit their apogee at about 351 000 feet and while we don't have apogee i can just imagine jackie they are having the time of their lives thank you again everybody for joining us live from west texas so far a nominal flight for our second human crew here we see the descent we are going to expect the be3 engine to re-light just about 3 600 feet or about 1200 meters above ground level let's wait for that now the drag brakes have deployed and here we come new shepard and touchdown welcome back new shepherd the fourth flight to space and back for that vehicle provided a beautiful flight to space for our second human crew wow that gets me every time we do this live down here in texas the sonic boom is so cool drag breaks are folding back in as have the wedge fins just looks like you could uh fuel her up and go again what do you think jackie and even when you know to expect the sonic boom it still catches you off guard every time talk about a rumble a beautiful sight of our new shepard rocket there in the west texas desert but of course the show is not over the capsule is descending we are waiting for first the drogue break excuse me the drogue shoots to deploy those are very much like the guide parachutes they will subsequently be uh followed by the uh the main parachutes that will fully that the full first reef and then fully inflate and there go the drogue parachutes and here come the mains what a flight you can already start to hear the cheers from outside the our our stage here in west texas that's unlike anything you'll ever feel stand by touchdown standby touchdown and capsule touchdown welcome back the newest astronauts audrey powers william shatner our customers glenn devries and chris poshausen what a day for you welcome back our recovery crew is out there and is about to open the hatch there is our founder jeff bezos giving the big thumbs up captain kirk himself the great william shatner comforter of blue that we have around we think oh that's blue sky and there's something you shoot through it all of a sudden and so you whip off a sheet off you when you're asleep and you're looking into blackness into black ugliness and you look down is there death i don't know is that death is that the way death is weapon it's gone jesus it was so moving to me this experience did something unbelievable you see yeah you know the weightless my stomach went up this is so weird but not as weird as the covering of bloom this is what i never expected oh it's one thing to say oh the sky and the thing and then fragile it's all true but what isn't true what is unknown is there's this pillow there's this soft blue look at the beauty of that color and it's so thin and you're through it in an instant it's one of them how thick is it is it a no i mean depends on how you measure because it thins out but maybe 50 miles but you're going 2 000 miles an hour so you're through 50 miles of whatever the mathematics fast yeah you know it's like a beat and a beat and suddenly you threw the blue and you're into black and you're into you know it's rods mysterious and galaxies and things but what you see is black and what you see down there is light and that's the difference and not to have this you have done something i mean whatever those other guys are doing what if what isn't they don't i don't know about that what you have given me is the most profound experience i could announce i'm so filled with emotion about what just happened i i just it's extraordinary extraordinary\n"