Audrey Powers is the vice president of mission and flight operations of American aerospace and spaceflight company Blue Origin. [1] On October 13, 2021, Powers accompanied William Shatner along with two other space tourists on a New Shepard rocket as part of the Blue Origin NS-18 mission into space. [2]
She received a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical engineering from Purdue University and worked then as an engineer. As a guidance and controls engineer, she was a flight controller for NASA with 2000 hours of console time in Mission Control for the International Space Station Program. While supporting government satellite programs for Lockheed Martin, Ms. Powers received a Juris Doctor in 2008 from Santa Clara University School of Law. She currently works as a lawyer. [3]
Blue Origin, LLC is an American aerospace, defense, space exploration company and launch service provider headquartered in Kent, Washington, United States. Blue Origin makes rocket engines for the United Launch Alliance and other customers. The company also manufactures rockets, spacecrafts and heavy-lift launch vehicles. The company was selected as the second provider for lunar lander services for NASA's Artemis program and was awarded a $3.4 billion contract. The company has three engines in production including the BE-3U, BE-3PM and BE-4. The company is working on a fourth advanced rocket engine, called the BE-7, which is still under development and when completed, will be used on planetary bodies other than Earth.
New Shepard is a fully reusable suborbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin. The vehicle is named after Alan Shepard who, in 1961, became the first American to travel into space, and later became the fifth person to walk on the moon. The vehicle is capable of vertical takeoff and landings and can carry humans and customer payloads to the edge of space.
Vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) is a form of takeoff and landing for rockets. Multiple VTVL craft have flown. The most widely known and commercially successful VTVL rocket is SpaceX's Falcon 9 first stage.
Mary Wallace Funk is an American aviator, commercial astronaut, and Goodwill Ambassador. She was the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the first female Federal Aviation Agency inspector, as well as one of the Mercury 13.
The BE-3 is a LH2/LOX rocket engine developed by Blue Origin.
New Glenn is a heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle in development by Blue Origin, named after NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth. Design work on the vehicle began in 2012; illustrations of the vehicle, and the high-level specifications, were initially publicly unveiled in September 2016. New Glenn is a two-stage rocket with a diameter of 7 m (23 ft). Its first stage will be powered by seven BE-4 engines that are also being designed and manufactured by Blue Origin.
This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2021. 2021 saw several spaceflight related records being set worldwide. This includes both the most orbital launch attempts and most successful orbital launches in a year. In addition, 2021 saw records set in the number of humans in orbit at one time and the most humans in space at one time.
Robert E. "Rob" Meyerson is an American aerospace engineer and executive known for his role in the development of reusable rocket launch systems.
Blue Origin NS-16 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin which flew on 20 July 2021. The mission was the sixteenth flight of the company's New Shepard integrated launch vehicle and spacecraft, and its first crewed flight. It carried into space American billionaire and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, pilot and Mercury 13 member Wally Funk, and Dutch student Oliver Daemen. The flight commenced from Blue Origin's Corn Ranch sub-orbital launch site in West Texas aboard the third flight of New Shepard booster NS4 and the spacecraft RSS First Step, both having previously flown on NS-14 and NS-15 earlier in the year.
Oliver Daemen is a Dutch space tourist who flew as part of the 20 July 2021, sub-orbital Blue Origin NS-16 spaceflight. At the time of his flight he was 18 years old, and is the youngest person, first teenager, and first person born in the 21st century to travel to space. Daemen is a licensed pilot.
RSS First Step is a New Shepard space capsule, built and operated by American spaceflight company Blue Origin. It is the third New Shepard capsule to fly to space, and the first to fly passengers. Its first flight was the NS-14 mission, which reached an altitude of 107 km (66 mi) on 14 January 2021.
Blue Origin NS-18 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin that launched on 13 October 2021. The mission was the eighteenth flight of the company's New Shepard integrated launch vehicle and spacecraft. It was the second crewed New Shepard launch. The flight, carrying four people including actor William Shatner, launched from Blue Origin's sub-orbital launch site in West Texas aboard the fourth flight of New Shepard booster NS4 and the spacecraft RSS First Step, both having previously flown on NS-14, NS-15, and NS-16 earlier in the year.
Glen de Vries was an American entrepreneur in the field of medical science and pharmacology. He was the co-founder and co-CEO of Medidata Solutions. In October of 2021 he flew into space on Blue Origin NS-18 in a suborbital flight.
Blue Origin NS-19 was a crewed New Shepard sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin that launched on 11 December 2021. The flight was scheduled to launch on 9 December 2021, later delayed to 11 December 2021.
Blue Origin NS-20 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin, which launched on 31 March 2022 using the New Shepard rocket. With six people on board, it was Blue Origin's fourth crewed flight, and twentieth flight overall to reach space.
Katya Celeste Echazarreta González is a Mexican electrical engineer, science communicator, and Citizen Astronaut. She worked at NASA, first as an intern during her university undergraduate career, then later as a test lead for the Europa Clipper Ground Support Equipment group. She has contributed to a total of five NASA missions. Around 2019, Echazarreta began uploading engineering-related content to Instagram, later expanding her platforms to YouTube and TikTok.
Blue Origin NS-21 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission, operated by Blue Origin, which launched on 4 June 2022 using the New Shepard rocket. It was Blue Origin's fifth crewed flight, and twenty-first overall to reach space.
Blue Origin NS-22 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission, operated by Blue Origin, which launched on 4 August 2022 using the New Shepard rocket. It was Blue Origin's sixth crewed flight and the twenty-second overall to go into space.
Blue Origin NS-23 was an uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight mission of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, which launched on 12 September 2022. The booster failed during max q about a minute after launch, triggering the launch escape system which removed the capsule from the booster. The capsule landed successfully, while the booster was destroyed upon impact with the ground.
Gary Lai is an American aerospace engineer. He was the chief architect for New Shepard, a vehicle developed by aerospace manufacturer Blue Origin for space tourism. On March 31, 2022, he flew on New Shepard's 20th mission to space, NS-20.