Blue Origin targets August 4 to launch its NS-22 mission with 1st Egyptian and Portuguese

Blue Origin's sixth crewed mission will lift off on August 4 with six new passengers for a joyride, company announced on July 29. Named New Shepard 22 (NS-22), mission will mark company's third of year and 22nd overall sub-orbital flight when it launches from Launch Site One in West Texas. According to Blue Origin, launch window opens at 8:30 am CDT (7 pm IST) for crew of six which includes first astronauts from Egypt and Portugal.

ditionally, Jeff Bezos-led firm also released its mission patch which is related to each of crew members. NS-22 mission team includes Coby Cotton, co-founder of YouTube channel Dude Perfect along with Sara Sabry, Vanessa O’Brien, Mário Ferreira, Clint Kelly III and Steve Young. 

As for mission patch, it has last name of each passenger written over it along with a few symbols. pyramids on patch represent heritage of Sabry, who would emerge as her country's first person to visit Space. Mariana Trench on lower half of patch represents O’Brien’s feat of reaching Challenger Deep, Earth’s deepest point.  After her flight, she would set Guinness World Record of achieving extremes on land, sea and air as she has also climbed Mount Everest. 

(Blue Origin NS-22 mission crew; Image: Blue Origin)

Moreover, crew capsule in patch has been depicted as a basketball symbolising every trick shot of Dude Perfect, YouTube channel which has over 58 million followers. patch also features a Magellan ship representing Ferreira’s Portuguese heritage whereas fish beneath ship symbolises Young’s passion for fishing. Besides, stagecoach represents Clint Kelly III’s aspirations for humanity’s reach into outer space. 

More about NS-22 mission crew

Ferreira, who would become first astronaut from Portugal, is an entrepreneur and President of Pluris Investments Group, which includes more than 40 companies spanning tourism, media, real estate, insurance, and renewable energy. He was also decorated by President of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, with title of "Comendor" in 2003. 

Sabry, on or hand, is a mechanical and biomedical engineer by profession and she was also Egypt's first female analogue astronaut in 2021 after completing a two-week-long simulated lunar mission. While Blue Origin did not reveal launch cost per astronaut, it revealed that Sabry's seat is sponsored by Space For Humanity.

Moreover, O'Brien is a British-American explorer who is set to make a Guinness World Record called Explorers' Extreme Trifecta for her historic feat. fifth passenger Kelly has managed research and technology programs primarily focussed on computer science and robotics whereas Young, former CEO of Young's Communications LLC (Y-COM), is currently associated with  Space Coast Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). 

Image: Blue Origin