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Blue Origin launched its 13th human spaceflight mission on June 29, comprising six tourists that reached just beyond the Kármán Line in the company’s latest crewed suborbital flight. The vehicle blasted off at 9:39 a.m. CDT (1439 GMT) from Launch Site One in West Texas. The passengers—Allie and Carl Kuehner, Leland Larson, Freddie Rescigno Jr., Owolabi Salis, and James Sitkin—spent roughly three minutes in microgravity aboard the New Shepard capsule before safely landing under parachutes, cushioned by air thrusters in the West Texas desert.

Carl Kuehner Becomes 750th Human in Space on Blue Origin’s NS-33 Suborbital Flight

As per a mission update from Blue Origin, Carl Kuehner became the 750th human to enter space, as recorded by the Association of Space Explorers. The milestone was determined by his assigned seat on the RSS Kármán Line capsule, which ascended to an altitude of 345,044 feet (105.2 kilometers) above the internationally recognized space boundary. Kuehner also holds the distinction of being Blue Origin’s 70th space traveler, part of a mission officially designated NS-33, marking the 33rd New Shepard flight.

The crew experienced the awe-inspiring sight of Earth’s curvature set against the blackness of space. In addition to the six-member crew — which called itself “The Solstice 33” based on its delayed solstice launch — more than 1,000 postcards from students were also carried up, part of Blue Origin’s “Club for the Future” outreach.

The passengers were drawn from a broad array of professions, among them law, real estate, transportation, and environmental advocacy. Although Blue Origin has yet to release a ticket price for these flights, the mission is another sign of the pick-up in momentum in space tourism and for commercial space travel at suborbital altitudes.

The NS-33 mission also pushed that latter number to 123, for the total number of people who have flown on suborbital flights. Every such launch brings Blue Origin that much closer to its goal of opening space to humans, as well as to showing that its technology is reliable, and that humanity’s thirst for space is unquenchable.

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NASA’s Perseverance May Have Found Its First Meteorite on Mars

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NASA’s Perseverance rover may have discovered its first meteorite on Mars, a 31-inch iron-nickel boulder named Phippsaksla found in Jezero Crater. Its pitted, coral-like texture and unusually high metal content resemble meteorites previously identified by Curiosity, Spirit, and Opportunity. Scientists are now analysing the rock’s composition in detail to determine…

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Dark Matter May Have Been Seen for the First Time in NASA Gamma-Ray Data

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A new analysis of NASA’s Fermi telescope data reveals a faint gamma-ray halo around the Milky Way’s core, matching predictions for annihilating dark-matter particles. Researchers say no known astrophysical source fits the signal, raising the possibility of the first direct evidence of dark matter. Experts, however, stress caution and call for verification in other…

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Boiling Oceans May Hide Beneath Icy Moons, New Study Suggests

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A new study suggests that icy moons such as Mimas and Enceladus may host boiling subsurface oceans triggered by thinning ice shells and falling pressure. This low-temperature boiling could still support life beneath the surface. The research also explains geological features on larger icy moons and strengthens their potential as sites for finding extraterrestrial life…

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