New Shepard rocket makes suborbital flight with tourists

The US rocket New Shepard made a commercial suborbital flight carrying six tourists.

The US rocket New Shepard made a commercial suborbital flight with six tourists on board. The Blue Origin company, which developed the rocket, broadcast its launch on YouTube.

The rocket left the Corn Ranch launch pad in Texas at 9.45 a.m. local time. The journey of the six crew members lasted more than 10 minutes.

Laura Shepard, daughter of the first American citizen to enter space, and Michael Strachan, host of the ABC television show Good Morning America, were aboard the flight. In addition, four tourists - Dylan Taylor, Evan Dick, Lane Bess and Cameron Bess - are also travelling.

In October, Blue Origin landed the New Shephard suborbital spacecraft for the fifth time. During the first test launch on 23 November 2015, the New Shepard rocket and the ship of the same name reached an altitude of 100.5 kilometres. The company was the first to successfully launch a used reusable rocket.