Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket is set to send another six people to space, including a science show host, two returning travelers, two philanthropists and an online prize winner.
Emily Calandrelli, known by the moniker “Space Gal,” will be among the six people scheduled for blast off this Friday from Blue Origins’ West Texas spaceport aboard the New Shepard-28 mission, the company’s ninth trip to space.
“I’m flying to space… FRIDAY!,” Calandrelli wrote Monday on X, celebrating her selection.
Calandrelli, an MIT engineer, is an Emmy-nominated TV host and New York Times best-selling author who has spread the joys of science to young people, particularly girls, to get them involved in STEM fields.
Calandrelli, who also hosts shows on Netflix and YouTube, has begun documenting her upcoming trip to space, with the excited astronaut compiling a flash drive filled with a list of dreams from her followers to take to space, raising more than $9,700 for children’s charities in the process.
Along with the science host, Sharon and Marc Hagle are set to return to space after taking off on a previous Blue Origins trip in 2022, becoming the first married couple to fly on a commercial space vehicle.
The Hagles are philanthropists who have given to many science and education-related charities, with Sharon founding the SpaceKids Global group, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire children to excel in science and technology.
Fellow philanthropists James “JD” Russell and Henry Wolfond will be aboard the flight as well.
Russell, of Tucson, Arizona, founded the Victoria Russell Foundation, a nonprofit named after his late daughter dedicated to supporting children’s education and families of first responders.
Wolfond serves as the chair of the Confronting Antisemitism Committee of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, and he’s the co-founder of the Autism Acceptance Project.
Amid the rich and famous, Austin Litteral, an average joe who works in the financial services industry, managed to secure a seat on the New Shepard as part of an online prize.
Austin, a father-of-two who always dreamed of being an astronaut, won his spot through a giveaway from Whatnot, a livestream shopping platform, which promised one of its viewers a trip to space.
Blue Origin has flown 43 people to space since its crewed launches began in 2021, including its founder and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos.
Friday’s flight is tentatively scheduled for 9:30 a.m. CST, with the launch broadcasting on Blue Origin’s website.
