We have lots of rocket launches coming up this week but the most notable event will be when Blue Origin flies the US’ first black astronaut candidate to the edge of space. Ed Dwight is now 90.
We have several launches coming up this week but the most interesting will be Blue Origin’s New Shepard mission. We’ve seen this rocket take off before so that’s not too interesting, but the crew is. It’ll carry six tourists aboard including America’s first black astronaut candidate Ed Dwight who never got the chance to go to space. Now he will travel to the edge of space at the age of 90.
Who: SpaceX
What: Falcon 9
When: 7:22 a.m. UTC
Where: California, US
Why: SpaceX will launch its Falcon 9 carrying the classified NROL-146 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. This mission marks the first phase of a new imaging satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman. The satellite is supposedly built upon SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bus with Northrop Grumman providing sensors.
Who: Blue Origin
What: New Shepard
When: 1:30 p.m. UTC
Where: Texas, US
Why: Blue Origin will launch its New Shepard suborbital rocket in a mission named NS-25. The launch will carry a crew of six including venture capitalist Mason Angel, the founder of French craft brewery Brasserie Mont Blanc Sylvain Chiron, entrepreneur Kenneth L. Hess, retired accountant Carol Schaller, pilot and aviator Gopi Thotakura, and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight who was selected as America’s first black astronaut candidate but never got the opportunity to fly to space.
