Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Carries 6 Passengers To Space: Who Are They And How Much Did They Pay?

Last Updated:January 22, 2026, 23:35 IST

The six passengers of Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-38 experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and saw Earth from space before coming back to West Texas.

The crew of Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-38 spaceflight.

Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, Blue Origin, completed its first spaceflight of 2026, where it carried six crew members to the edge of space aboard a rocket from its West Texas Site. The New Shepard NS-38 took off on Thursday at approximately 9:55 pm (Indian time), despite a 25-minute delay.

This flight marked the 38th overall spaceflight for the New Shepard programme and the 17th time the reusable rocket-capsule combo has carried humans to the edge of space. After separating at the boundary of space, the reusable booster executed a precise, fully autonomous return, and achieve an accurate touchdown on the concrete landing pad.

The six-member crew landed at the Texas desert after 11 minutes of experiencing weightlessness, joining an exclusive club of celebrities, business leaders and others who have experienced the brief journey to space.

Meet The Crew Of NS-38

The six people inside the vehicle’s capsule were entrepreneur and pilot Tim Drexler, retired obstetrician and gynaecologist Linda Edwards, real estate developer Alain Fernandez, entrepreneur Alberto Gutiérrez, retired Air Force Colonel Jim Hendren, and Blue Origin’s director of New Shepard launch operations, Laura Stiles.

Tim Drexler: He is the former owner and CEO of Ace Asphalt, where he spent 40 years building the family business into a major civil contracting firm, according to Blue Origin. After receiving accolades for his entrepreneurship at a young age, Drexler pursued his passion for aviation, becoming both a helicopter and aeroplane pilot.

Linda Edwards: She is a retired board-certified obstetrician/gynaecologist whose 40-year career was dedicated to caring for women. She has travelled to more than 40 countries and has been a wildlife advocate, an award-winning equestrian, and is also a two-time breast cancer survivor.

Alain Fernandez: He is an international real estate developer and investor who survived a life-altering diving accident while working as a scuba instructor in French Polynesia at the age of 22. He has a three-decade career in real estate.

Alberto Gutiérrez: He is an entrepreneur, technologist, and an avid world traveller who has visited more than 100 countries across all seven continents. He began writing travel guides in 2008, and later founded Civitatis, a leading tours and activities platform serving over one million travellers per month.

Jim Hendren: He is a retired US Air Force Colonel, former F-15 fighter pilot, and past Commander of the 157th Combat Operations Squadron, with multiple overseas combat deployments. He is also the founder of Hendren Plastics Inc., a global manufacturing company.

Laura Stiles: She was a late addition to the crew, replacing Andrew Yaffe, who dropped out due to an illness. Stiles holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering Sciences and serves as Blue Origin’s Director of New Shepard Launch Operations. She is also a world record-holder in large-formation skydiving, and an avid adventurer who has spent years coaching young engineers.

The Space Experience

The six-member crew enjoyed a few minutes of weightlessness and saw Earth from space, after the NS-38 carried them above the Kármán Line, the 100-km-high boundary that’s widely recognised as the start of outer space.

The vehicle’s rocket came back to Earth for a powered touchdown at its designated landing pad at 7 minutes and 20 seconds after liftoff. The capsule followed suit roughly three minutes later, raising a cloud of dust in the West Texas desert as it completed a soft landing under parachutes. The entire journey lasted roughly 11 minutes.

Blue Origin has now flown 98 people to space over its 17 human spaceflights, the first of which took place on July 20, 2021.

What Was The Cost Of Each Seat?

Although Blue Origin does not publicly list prices onits website, a form to reserve a seat requires customers to agree to a $150,000 deposit, according to USA Today. The seats themselves are expected to cost millions of dollars.

During Blue Origin’s maiden flight in June 2021, the price of an auctioned seat amounted to a staggering $28 million, setting the tone for future pricing tiers. Industry experts estimate that ticket prices for future flights are likely to fall in the range of $200,000 to $300,000.

This is lower than fares charged by Blue Origin’s competitors, such as Virgin Galactic, which charges $600,000 per seat. However, a select few passengers over the years have had their seats aboard New Shepard paid through grants and other funding methods from large institutions.

News world Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Carries 6 Passengers To Space: Who Are They And How Much Did They Pay?

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