VAN HORN, Texas — History was made in West Texas early Tuesday as Blue Origin's New Shepard carried Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen on a quick trip to space before returning to Earth.
At age 82, Funk is now the oldest person to go into space and at 18, Daemen the youngest.
Tuesday, 8:33 a.m.
The crew is now outside of the capsule, back down on the ground in Texas. They are hugging family, friends and colleagues.
"Best day ever!" Jeff Bezos could be heard shouting.
Tuesday, 8:22 a.m.
The mission was a success:
"Capsule, touchdown! Welcome home to #NewShepard’s first astronaut crew. A truly historic day. #NSFirstHumanFlight" — Blue Origin
Tuesday, 8:18 a.m.
The crew capsule is now returning to earth. Three main parachutes will slow its return. There are also three smaller chutes that come out earlier to help guide the ship. The capsule will touchdown at about 1 mph thanks to rockets that fire just before impact. Without those and just the parachutes, the impact would be about 16 mph.
Tuesday, 8:13 a.m.
The rocket has lifted and everything at this point is normal. The crew module will soon separate from the rocket. The crew module will later return to earth via parachutes.
Tuesday, 8:07 a.m.
Liftoff is just a few minutes away. There was a brief, normal, hold on the launch as crews cleared the site. The countdown has resumed for an estimated launch time of 8:10 a.m. Central.
Tuesday, 7:48 a.m.
"#NewShepard hatch is closed. Final checks are underway. #NSFirstHumanFlight" — Blue Origin
"Jeff, Mark, Wally and Oliver are now getting into their seats, buckling up, and preparing for hatch close in advance of #NewShepard’s flight to space and back. #NSFirstHumanFlight" — Blue Origin
Tuesday, 7:27 a.m.
"Astronauts have climbed the tower and are preparing to ingress the #NewShepard crew capsule, RSS First Step." — Blue Origin, Twitter
Tuesday, 7:19 a.m.
"We are go for #NewShepard astronaut load. CrewMember 7 is now taking Jeff, Mark, Wally, and Oliver out to the launch pad." — Blue Origin, Twitter
Tuesday, 7:12 a.m.
"Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket will launch from a pad near Van Horn, TX. Believe it or not, there were 2 Van Horns. The wells of Van Horn, long used by native Americans, were 'discovered' by Maj. Jefferson Van Horne who later commanded at Fort Bliss in El Paso in 1849." — Bill Bishop, KHOU 11
Tuesday, 6:52 a.m.
Tuesday, 6:15 a.m.
"#NewShepard’s flight profile lasts approximately 11 minutes from launch to capsule landing. Astronauts will experience three to four minutes of zero-g and travel above the Kármán Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space." — Blue Origin, Twitter
"Liftoff is on track for 8:00 am CDT / 13:00 UTC." — Blue Origin, Twitter
Tuesday, 5:53 a.m.
"#NewShepard is on the pad. The launch team completed vehicle rollout this morning and final preparations are underway. Liftoff is targeted for 8:00 am CDT / 13:00 UTC." — @BlueOrigin
Tuesday, 4:57 a.m.
KHOU 11 Meteorologist Chita Craft says the weather is cooperating for today's launch.
Tuesday, 4:32 a.m.
KHOU 11's Xavier Walton reports there is a line of vehicles outside the launch site right now.
Monday, 5:30 p.m.
Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen all finished their training and are ready for Tuesday's launch.
Monday, 4:45 p.m.
Our news crews weren't the only ones who traveled from far away to catch the launch. Judy and Gilbert made the trip to Houston for it.
Monday, 9:25 a.m.
KHOU 11's Xavier Walton and Sergio Soto made the journey to West Texas for the launch. Here's that trip in 49 seconds!
Saturday, 11 a.m.
Officials with Blue Origin gave a news conference, detailing the mission set for Tuesday.
KHOU 11 reporter Xavier Walton and photojournalist Sergio Soto are in West Texas for the launch. Watch for their reports on KHOU 11 News in Houston. WFAA's Sean Giggy and Alex Rozier are also there. They're reporting for Dallas' WFAA.