Blue Origin Postpones New Shepard Launch with Six Crew on Board Due to Technical Problem
19 December 2025, 2 min read
The New Shepard rocket was meant to take off from West Texas at around 11 AM New York time, with a mission that included the first wheelchair user to journey into space and one of the initial engineers from SpaceX.
“Our launch team has determined that we need to stand down from today’s NS-37 mission due to an issue observed in our built-in checks before flight,” Blue Origin announced via social media. “We are examining our next launch opportunity.”
Our launch team has determined that we need to stand down from today’s NS-37 mission due to an issue observed in our built-in checks before flight. We are examining our next launch opportunity.
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) December 18, 2025
This mission’s passengers included Michaela Benthaus, an aerospace engineer at the European Space Agency who was injured in a mountain biking accident in 2018, and Hans Koenigsmann, a former SpaceX vice president of avionics with two decades of service, who retired in 2021.
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An all-female celebrity crew journeys to space and back with Blue Origin — Watch here
The upcoming launch will mark the 16th human spaceflight for Bezos’ tourism venture utilizing the New Shepard, a small craft designed for short excursions to the edge of space and research missions.
Although Blue Origin does not reveal its ticket prices for tourism flights, competitor Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. charges approximately $600,000 for a comparable experience.
In April, pop star Katy Perry, Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, and CBS News host Gayle King participated in the flight, becoming part of the first all-female crew to reach space in over 60 years.
The company also manages its larger, heavy-lift New Glenn rocket, capable of launching spacecraft and satellites into orbit and beyond.
Also read | Blue Origin successfully launches a massive rocket carrying twin NASA spacecraft to Mars
In November, Blue Origin executed a successful second flight of New Glenn, deploying two NASA spacecraft bound for Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster on a barge in the Atlantic.
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
