WATCH LIVE Blue Origin Launch NS-26 Human Mission To Space Today | Amazon | Jeff Bezos | News | N18G

Jackie as we just saw Jim kitchen a very proud father of his daughter Carson kitchen one of the newest astronauts we have here and what we see on the screen we've got our uh our recovery crew the first person that ran out there was Sarah Knights uh our crew member seven what she does first is she she runs around the capsule to each one of the six Windows to each one of the six astronauts gets the thumbs up and uh make sure everybody is is happy and uh and safe and then the the rest of the team comes in you've seen passing in the background the the the rivan trucks there goes another one those are filled with uh with friends and family that are going to join here in a moment of course first thing is safety need to make sure that the capsule uh you know has vented whatever it needs to vent uh and that we're you know we've taken the the the lines of the parachutes off and then next what you'll see is somebody will bring over uh the the stairs to put under the hatch to put next to the hatch it is about it's about a meter it's about 3 feet the bottom of the hatch from the base of the um sorry the base of the hatch to the ground itself so it just makes for a more comfortable uh egress for our astronauts as they come home the capsule there seems to have found a really nice Clear Spot in our desert to land how how convenient I've been out there with the team trying to detangle the parachute lines from the brush that's out there and that is if you like taking out knots if you're one of those those odd people that really enjoys that and finds that I'm not one of those not one of those either stress relieving you should come join our team um but no not today it is a um a nice clean Landing of the the crew capsule you see the stairs have been put there so we're just moments away here from the ESS of our astronauts and the welcome home from their friends and family let's take a look e for [Music] [Music] cover [Music] [Music] [Music] welcome back everybody to new Shepard's 26 mission to space and back if you missed it a completely nominal and successful flight of both the booster you see it nicely standing standing proud in the background a spectacular View and capsule with its ride in the background there it's great the in the foreground uh a very happy capsule there uh we are our safety crew is uh safing the vehicle making sure everything is vented making sure the parachute uh lines are detached we have the stairs that are all set up there we're waiting for the astronauts to uh to egress we've got the additional vehicles that are rolling in here with friends and family and inside that capsule Jackie we've got six of the newest astronauts I mean just it's this view for me never gets old I've been here 10 years this is the eighth one of these we've done more than 40 astronauts we've supported going to space god there are those family and friends getting over there ready to for those big hugs that we were talking talking about a big congratulations to Carson kitchen who has become the youngest female to cross over the Carmen line the internationally recog recognized line of space at 100 kilometers up and also just a huge congratulations to Dr Rob furl and his entire team at the University of Florida plant lab which is so amazing amazing he's the first NASA funded researcher to Journey on a commercial suborbital vehicle again I can't wait to to read that research paper and Jackie we've talked about it um earlier in the show one of the things that's so cool about new Shepard is we've done payloads we've done uh human space flight we're now combining the two for tend admissions it serves at a as a perfect pipeline for the science Community from around the world to fly their experiments and their technology up to space you get sure you get a couple of minutes of zero g up in space by the way we can also put as um put experiments mounted on the outside of the capsule if you want exposure to to uh to the vacuum of space yeah we've we've actually flown some really cool um lunar Landing sensors mounted on the exterior of the booster when we get that you know re-entry data it's super helpful for those type of payloads as well it's it's super help and you know sometimes you don't necessarily need the full flight to the International Space Station which is very cool and often times what you do need but in building up to that flight to the ISS start with a a new Shepherd launch Which is less expensive you get your science back immediately you can do it again and then get ready to go to fly so you know this is the first I hope of many many human tended uh experiments to go on new Shephard Jackie I was just looking at the capsule one of the things that um that stands out to me I've watched a lot of these loues in Landings is man the capsule picked a really nice Clear Spot in the desert I've I've been out there with the team when these parachute lines get all you know Tangled Up in the brush and there are some really nasty Pokey plants out there and um I don't know if you're if you're one of those those people that enjoy undoing knots I'm not I don't even like untying like a knot in my shoelace so I'm definitely not one of yeah uh then you know come join us for that parachute crew but here we go hatch is open welcome back astronauts I went [Music] to yeah [Music] [Music] [Applause] seeing a lot of smiles a lot of jubilance here oh that is love that is emotion how you feeling yeah you see the families Jackie we talked about it you know this might be the astronaut's dream but the support that that they that they need and they get from these family and friend member family members and friends that are down there that's you know you have astronauts that are having emotions that they've never felt but to see your loved one come back from an experience like that right and like we said earlier space flate on new Shepherd has kind of become a family affair so seeing that hug between new Shepherd astronaut Jim kitchen and his daughter Carson really just such a special moment really hitting that that point home in a very unique [Music] way so we've seen all six of our astronauts come out again absolutely jubilant we saw Dr Rob furl put his University of Florida had on representing um as you said I can't wait to to read the his research paper on his findings yeah I don't think I've read something like that since um high school biology but I am ready now is now is my time and I will tell you when I learned about it in high school they weren't talking about something like what Rob just did um and so I'm very very excited for what's to come out of that and the potentially huge impact on science and research it's just so exciting yeah it is it it's wonderful what what boundaries a program like new Shephard can press forward obviously we're looking forward to the the Next Generation which is new Glenn our big orbital rocket that we'll be launching for the first time later this year um and all the doors that it's going to open absolutely and and again you know really the lessons learned from new Shepard are so applicable to everything we've been doing on New gland we mentioned the fins earlier as just an example but even with Mission operations right conducting a mission like NS 26 all of those Lessons Learned are directly applicable to our mission operators for new Glenn here in just a few months in just a few months and I mean I I I can't wait for that day Jackie that is I mean think about the emotion that we're feeling here today I'm going to make an analogy please bear with me it's going be 110,000 lb of thrust on the be3 engine you take that and you multiply multiply by 35 3.85 million pounds of thrust on the base of the new Glenn rocket now you're doing math so over the course of this webcast we've hit biology chemistry and Mathematics so I just wanted to acknowledge that we all those steam landmarks we are but you know that is the like it it is going to be at least 35 five times as you know as exciting and the rumble that's going to happen down there at the cape I mean it is going to be huge it is going to be absolutely huge um you know and by the way just like new Shepherd it will evolve to take humans on board and this same emotion you're going to see that after after astronauts have gone to space gone to the Moon I mean it's um what what we're doing here at Blue origin is um no I just feel very fortunate to be part of the part of the program part of the company yeah I have to tell you Arian back um eight years ago when I about eight years ago when I joined blue the the real you know thing that that tipped it over for me was the people here at Blue and you were one of them back in the day oh stop truly still for this day so thank you AR it just didn't take you very long no it didn't take you long at all the contrast between you I mean you kind of black out yeah I did I did you so much so fun welcome astronaut it's great that was and then it becomes just so they're getting a couple of insights from Carson kitchen obviously the audio is a little a little patchy out there helped you out were you yelling like hear the final number did you see the final number we'll find out I'll find out what was it like 105 was pretty good the ride the ride was incredibly smooth and I was so impressed with the ride up but being there the darkness of space you can't there's no way to talk about it there's no way to talk about how how impressive space is in the earth below again yeah understanding this audio is a little shaky here but again we'll get all of these amazing reactions on our socials clearly so staying tuned for that after the worked the way it was supposed to the hours weeks and months preparation all went real well everything is good that's great couldn't have been a better experience thank you for helping us pathy what this looks like moving forward you bet there's there's there's room and opportunity for scientists of all sizes shapes and ages to do this they really should there's a lot a lot of opportunity in a ride like that thanks for flying around congratulations the fire well if you're looking for a testimonial for the future of human tended research on new Shepard I uh couldn't have said it better myself so there it is from Dr Rob furl what just an absolutely incredible day for all of us and especially for our crew on board NS 26 Carson kitchen nicolina elrick Rob furl Iman Jan gear Eugene grin and efim rabine it was a absolute honor to fly you to space today if you listening in you watching would like to follow in the pioneering footsteps of these astronauts and purchase the seat on a Future ride to space visit blue origin.com and click fly to space pretty straightforward there right keep it easy your own journey to visit the Carmen line is closer than you think and if you would like to purchase a mission patch to commemorate today's launch head of the blue orgin shop for patches and a lot more uh sweet gear here's that patch if we can get it on screen here for today's there you go for today's flight which is what our astronauts you saw it on their suit that green color and the plants ascending in spiral lines representing the living organ organisms that Rob furl had in his experiment the continuous loop represents efim rabin's career and supply chain the heart represents Dr Iman dang Gear's career as a cardiologist the spiral line toward space represents Eugene grin's passion for travel and the children at the bottom represent Carson kitchen and nicolina El's childhood dreams to go to space but they also represent club for the future's mission to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue steam careers now if you want to join us and build a road to space we have hundreds of positions open across all of our facilities across the US you see it there including machinists programmers from Florida to Alabama to uh our headquarters up in the state of Washington just visit our website for more details at bon.com backcare everybody thank you so much for joining us my name is Arian Cornell Jackie it was a pleasure to have you uh here at the desk with me always a pleasure Arian and with our third webcast and with our third future uh third webcaster here the future astronaut thank you so much for joining us until our next launch GD autum fostor have you ever dreamed of going to space and gazing back on Earth through some of the largest windows that have ever flown in space we certainly have 10 a once-in-a-lifetime journey is closer than you think it's your time to join the new generation of [Music] astronots to book your flight visit bon.com and click fly to space tell us as much as you can about yourself we welcome you to the final frontier [Music] [Music] [Music] e there you go you see those a fins moving back and forth you see two out of the four waiting for the engine [Music] gimbal there you go peeking out bottom left of your screen Jackie this rocket is looking good and ready for launch this morning you see the Gantry has retracted these astronauts are going to space with that I'm going to turn it over to our mission control team godspeed new Shepherd and enjoy the flight astronauts see you when you get [Music] home 5 4 just start two one she clear the tower There She Goes new shepher has cleared the tower on its way to space with its crew of six they are screaming up towards the Carmen line you can see the speedometer on your bottom left there as well as the altimeter and we're going to follow along with the flight on the left side of your screen with those Milestones first one com com up here is Max [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Q Max Q has been confirmed maximum Dynamic pressure it's when the forces on the vehicle between the atmosphere and the speed are at their are maximum we punched right through it as well as punch through that layer of clouds the vehicle continues on its upward Ascent toward space if you are just joining us we've had a clean liftoff of new Shepard's 26th flight in this program we are witnessing the eighth human space flight of new Shepard We Have astronauts 38 through 43 on the vehicle on its way to space our next milestone here is main engine cut off and what we'll witness is the speed will start to come down but the uh the Exel excuse me the the altitude will continue to go up when the speed hits zero means we have hit apigy and Jackie I think one of the other cool part of this program is that we slow you see that kind of slight little hot dog roll we got going on of the rocket we just want to give it's really is just to give the astronauts each 360 degree view as they're going up which is so cool all right main engine cut off and separation have been confirmed [Music] and Jackie this is when our our astronauts are feeling zero g Dr Rob furl is going to start his his experiments up there in the cabin hopefully after a little time to look out the window pre- experimentation I would totally steal at least a a a couple of looks out of the big gorgeous windows [Music] and again we're coming up on apig you see that the speed is reducing when it hits zero that's when we've hit that is when we've hit AP at this point we are well over the Carmen line about 328,000 or 100 K 328,000 ft or 100 km up and there it is ape about 34 th000 ft Jackie can you imagine the view I was talking about being jealous of your Astronaut training but I'm more jealous of them right now know they're unbuckled at the moment they are turning their Sommers Sals they are soaking it in they are you know we're witnessing six people having their minds blown right now as we speak but the booster is heading on down and it will beat the the capsule back to Earth the booster of course has a controlled landing on a landing pad just 2 miles north of where it's taken off from the capsule less aerodynamically shaped will uh will land second under three parachutes uh in our uh Landing Zone in our Valley in West Texas so far a nominal flight of our 26 mission to space and back of the new sheeper vehicle plus our eighth human space flight congratulations truly to all six of our astronauts today oh I'm sorry our crew who officially have become astronauts massive congratulations over the Carmen line [Music] phix [Music] report Phenix report status uh [Music] hey all six astronauts are back in their seat and the booster is screaming on home yeah as we mentioned that booster is going to return to Earth a lot faster than the capsule because of the aerodynamic nature of the crew capsule is coming back to the clouds that's a sweet view of the booster as it's coming back through the atmosphere here so we see the drag ranks have been deployed there's the relight of that be3 engine that gorgeous hover above the landing pad and booster touchdown a successful touchdown of the booster for the NS 26 Mission always a sight to see always a sight to see really I mean it's been going thousands of miles per hour and then it comes in landing you see it just kind of hovers there at 5 miles an hour it's such a smooth descent and it's and landing and to as as a reminder to people this is so critical to the reusability because the the smoother The Landing the less you jostle the rocket the less you have to refurbish the rocket the more you can more use you can get out of the rocket absolutely and some some really cool things here right like those fins you were talking about earlier are Lessons Learned with guiding this vehicle back are going to be applied to our next big Lessons Learned From This booster every single Mission every single Mission now the the crew capsule is obviously also coming back down to land here uh we are going to have first the drug parachutes that come out those are kind of like the guide parachutes then we're going to see the mains they will Reef so they're going to kind of go out just a little bit and then they fully inflate and talk about cutting speed you can already see the speed on the the on the the screen there it comes in at just like 15 16 miles an hour for nice there she is and again these parachutes both the drugs and the mains are essential in providing iding a gentle touchdown for the capsule but as we get closer to the ground here you're going to see a retro thrust system on the base of the capsule um which does kick up a bit of West Texas dust but it makes for an even smoother touchdown then again you know like you said the already slow speed that the capsule is descending at now [Music] we're just 400 feet away from [Music] touchdown again stay tuned for that retro thrust system here and crew capsule touchdown welcome home to the newest six astronauts the blue steel team once more what appears to be a completely smooth flight for new Shephard uh our booster touching down at the at the landing pad and a soft Landing for our latest crew just a beautiful flight up and back I mean that is just one of the the the cleanest flights I've SE from this rocket but behind every rocket is an extraordinary team so a big shout out to the entire new Shephard program what a beautiful flight today and another congratulations to the six newest astronauts what a day it has been now our capsule uh recovery team is currently going to be driving out to the Convoy to meet the capsule they're going to Safe the the capsule and get ready to open the hatch and welcome our astronauts back home and that Convoy includes obviously you know the vehicle team the new Shepherd professionals but also the family members of our crew who without a doubt are excited to reunite with their loved ones their newly minted astronauts I you know we saw it earlier in in one of the videos but some of those hugs when their astronauts come back to earth are probably some of the most memorable biggest hugs in a lifetime there there's some mean hugs those are some mean hugs we've captured some mean hugs on these uh on these webcasts well so talking about friends and family you know we talk these people have dreamed of going to space for a long time but with those sorts of Dreams Come friends and family that support in so many ways emotional and otherwise um and on that note while we're waiting for the recovery crew to make it out to the capsule we were able a couple of days ago to have a chat with a very special former astronaut and someone who's got uh a tight connection with one of today's crew let's hear what ns20 astronauts say about what this experience is like for astronauts as well as what his daughter Carson kitchen may be experiencing right now all right we've got a very special guest with us today from our ns20 crew Jim kitchen welcome back how's it feel to be uh down in West Texas once again it's exciting to be here to watch another space launch and uh here at the iconic El capiton hotel in lovely Van Horn Texas well he this isn't just any you know space launch there's somebody very special going up tell me about her this is a special launch um when she was a little girl my daughter Carson she told me definitively that she's going to be an astronaut and here here we are 15 years later and she's actually going to be an astronaut in a uh you know going into space in a in a couple of days how you might obviously you're very proud Dad what's it's there's got to be a lot of contradicting thoughts going through your head right now what are you feeling yeah well put um it's it's emotional her mom and I um are here her family's coming her friends are coming it's emotional um to see someone that's wanted to go to space and is actually you know a dream come true and you know to be able to to have that dream to to f have it fulfilled is is amazing but you know I think about Allan Shepard in 1961 going to space and then his daughter Laura Shepard H doing that after I you know it's it's surreal to think that she and I are are going to be you know have that in common um but um you know such mixed feelings on this because it's exciting but you know we're also you know watching watching this in with anticipation yeah that's your baby that's my baby so um have you spoken to Carson uh since she started her her training what what's going through her head the these days at this moment it's one thing to be thinking about it when you're back at home it's another thing once you get to Van Horn you know it's real yeah I saw her last night and she's really excited she's a very positive person um she looked at me and said dad of all the people that have ever lived on this on this planet and we talked about that number it was 110 billion people uh that she gets an opportunity to go to space and she's dumbfounded by that we were looking at the Stars last night at the astronaut Village and she said you know people since the dawn of humanity have wanted to go to space and to actually be able to do that uh be one of the first 700 uh there's only been a hundred women 100 or so women that have have done that and so for her to be one of the the youngest women and the actually the youngest women to go past the Carmen line is surreal um but you know she's she's all business she can't wait till till uh launch day and um but she's just having the time of her life she hugged me a couple times and this is like I can't believe this is happening uh but she's excited and very confident amazing well talking about all business um your daughter Carson has found an amazing organization called orbitel do you want to talk to us a little bit about uh about the organization and its mission in general what she wants to do is just encourage young women to pursue Jackie as we just saw Jim kitchen a very proud father of his daughter Carson kitchen one of the newest astronauts we have here and what we see on the screen we've got our uh our recovery crew the first person that ran out there was Sarah Knights uh our crew member seven what she does first is she she runs around the capsule to each one of the six Windows to each one of the six astronauts gets the thumbs up and uh make sure everybody is is happy and uh and safe and then the the rest of the team comes in you've seen passing in the background the the the rivan trucks there goes another one those are filled with uh with friends and family that are going to join here in a moment of course first thing is safety need to make sure that the capsule uh you know has vented whatever it needs to vent uh and that were you know we've taken the the the lines of the parachutes off and then next what you'll see is somebody will bring over uh the stairs to put under the hatch to put next to the hatch it is about it's about a meter it's about three feet the bottom of the hatch from the base of the um sorry the base of the hatch to the ground itself so it just makes for a more comfortable uh egress for our astronauts as they come home the capsule there seems to have found a really nice Clear Spot in our desert to land how how convenient I've been out there with the team trying to detangle the parachute lines from the brush that's out there and that is if you like taking out knots if you're one of those those odd people that really enjoys that and finds that I'm not one of those I'm not one of those either stress relieving you should come join our team um but no not today it is a um a nice clean Landing of the the crew capsule you see the stairs have been put there so we're just moments away here from the ESS of our astronauts and the welcome home from their friends and family let's take a look e [Music] [Music] coming FL [Music] [Music] oner look for status of maning when [Music] welcome back everybody to new Shepard's 26 mission to space and back if you missed it a completely nominal and successful flight of both the booster you see it nicely standing standing proud in the background a spectacular View and capsule with its ride in the background there it's great the in the foreground uh a very happy capsule there uh we are our safety crew is uh safing the vehicle making sure everything is vented making sure the parachute uh lines are detached we've have the stairs that are all set up there we're waiting for the astronauts to uh to egress we've got the additional vehicles that are rolling in here with friends and family and inside that capsule Jackie we've got six of the newest astronauts I mean just it's this view for me never gets old I've been here 10 years this is the eighth one of these we've done more than 40 astronauts we've supported going to space god there are those family and friends getting over there getting ready to for those big hugs that we were talking talking about a big congratulations to Carson kitchen who has become the youngest female to cross over the Carmen line the internationally recog recognized line of space at 100 km up and also just a huge congratulations to Dr Rob furl and his entire team at the University of Florida plant lab which is so amazing he's the first NASA funded researcher to Journey on a commercial suborbital vehicle again I can't wait to to read that research paper and Jackie we've talked about it um earlier in the show one of the things that's so cool about new Shepard is we've done payloads we've done uh human space flight we're now combining the two for tended missions it serves at a as a perfect pipeline for the science Community from around the world to fly their experiments and their technology up to space you get sure you get a couple of minutes of zero g up in space by the way we can also put as U put experiments mounted on the outside of the capsule if you want exposure to to uh to the vacuum of space yeah we've we've actually flown some really cool um lunar Landing sensors mounted on the exterior of the booster when we get that you know re-entry data it's super helpful for those type of payloads as well it's it's super helpful and you know sometimes you don't necessarily need the full flight to the International Space Station which is very cool and oftentimes what you do need but in building up to that flight to the ISS start with a a new Shepherd launch Which is less expensive you get your science back immediately you can do it again and then get ready to go to fly so you know this is the first I hope of many many human tended uh experiments to go on new Shepherd Jackie I was just looking at the capsule one of the things that um that stands out to me I watched a lot of these loues and landings is man the capsule picked a really nice Clear Spot in the desert I've I've been out there with the team when these parachute lines get all you know Tangled Up in the brush and there are some really nasty Pokey plants out there and um I don't know if you're if you're one of those those people that enjoy undoing knots I'm not I don't even like untying like a knot in my shoelace so I'm definitely not one of those people yeah uh then you know come join us for that parachute crew but here we go hatch is open welcome back astronauts [Music] [Music] [Music] seeing a lot of smiles a lot of jubin here oh that is love that is emotion how you feeling yeah you see the families Jackie we talked about it you know this might be the astronauts dream but the support that that they that they need and they get from these family and friend member family members and friends that are down there that's you know you have astronauts that are having emotions that they've never felt but to see your loved one come back from an experience like that right and like we said earlier space flate on new Shepard has kind of become a family affair so seeing that hug between new Shepherd astronaut Jim kitchen and his daughter Carson really just such a special moment really hitting that that point home in a very unique [Music] way there you go you see those fins moving back and forth you see two out of the four waiting for the engine [Music] gimbal there you go peeking out bottom left of your screen Jackie this rocket is looking good and ready for launch this morning you see the Gantry has retracted these astronauts are going to space with that I'm going to turn it over to our mission control team godspeed new Shepherd and enjoy the flight astronauts see you when to get home [Music] 6 5 4 just start 2 1er clear the tower There She Goes new shepher has cleared the tower on its way to space with its crew of six they are screaming up towards the Carmen line you can see the speedometer on your bottom left there as well as the altimeter and we're going to follow along with the flight on the left side of your screen with those Milestones first one coming up here is Max QBE [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] than Max Q has been confirmed maximum Dynamic pressure it's when the forces on the vehicle between the atmosphere and the speed are at their are maximum we punched right through it as well as punch through that layer of clouds the vehicle continues on its upward Ascent toward space if you are just joining us we have had a clean liftoff of new sheeper 26th flight in this program we are witnessing the eighth human space flight of new Shepherd We Have astronauts 38- 43 on the vehicle on its way to space our next Milestone here is main engine cut off and what we'll witness is the speed will start to come down but the uh the Exel EXC the the altitude will continue to go up when the speed hits zero means we have hit apigy Jackie I think one of the other cool part of this program is that we slow you see that kind of slight little hot dog roll we got going on of the rocket we just want to give it's really is just to give the astronauts each 360° View as they're going up which is so cool all right main engine cut off and separation have been [Music] confirmed and Jackie this is when our our astronauts are feeling zero g Dr Rob furl is going to start his his experiments up there in the cabin hopefully after a little time to look out the window pre- experimentation I would totally steal at least a a couple of looks out of the big gorgeous [Music] windows and again we're coming up on apigy you see that the speed is reducing when it hits zero that's when we've hit that is when we've hit apig at this point we are well over the Carmen line about 3 28,000 or 100 K 328,000 ft or 100 km up and there it is ape about 340,000 ft Jackie can you imagine the view I was talking about being jealous of your Astronaut training but I'm more jealous of them right now no they're unbuckled at the moment they're turning their somersaults they are soaking it in they are you know we're witnessing six people having their minds blown right now as we speak but the booster is heading on down and it will beat the the capsule back to Earth the booster of course has a controlled landing on a landing pad is 2 miles north of where it's taken off from the capsule less aerodynamically shaped will uh will land second under three parachutes uh in our uh Landing Zone in our Valley in West Texas so far a nominal flight of our 26 mission to space and back of the new sheeper vehicle plus our eighth human space flight congratulations truly to all six of our astronauts today oh I'm sorry our crew who officially have become astronauts massive congratulations over the Carmen line [Music] Phoenix [Music] rep Phoenix report status Phoenix four five and six heard all six astronauts are back in their seat and the booster is screaming on home yeah as we mentioned that booster is going to return to Earth a lot faster than the capsule because of the aerodynamic nature of the crew capsule is coming back to the clouds that's a sweet view of the booster as it's coming back through the atmosphere here so we see the drag breaks have been deployed there's the relight of that be3 engine that gorgeous hover Above The Landing Pad and booster touchdown a successful touchdown of the booster for the NS 26 Mission always a sight to see always a sight to see really I mean it's been going thousands of miles per hour and then it comes in landing you see it just kind of hovers there at 5 m an hour it's such a smooth descent and it's and landing and to as as a reminder to people this is so critical to the reusability because the the smoother The Landing the less you jostle the rocket the less you have to refurbish the rocket the more you can more uses you can get out of the rocket absolutely and some some really cool things here right like those fins you were talking about earlier our lessons learned with guiding this vehicle back are going to be applied to our next big Lessons Learned from this booster every single Mission every single Mission now the the crew capsule is obviously also coming back down to land here uh we are going to have first the drog parachutes that come out those are kind of like the guide parachutes then we're going to see the mains they will Reef so they're going to kind of go out just a little bit and then they fully inflate and talk about cutting speed you can already see the speed on the the on the the screen there it comes in at just like 15 16 mph for nice there she is and again these parachutes both the drugs and the mains are essential in providing a gentle touchdown for the capsule but as we get closer to the ground here you're going to see a retro thrust system on the base of the capsule um which does kick up a bit of West Texas dust but it makes for an even smoother touchdown then again you know like you said the already slow speed that the capsule is descending at [Music] now we're just 400 ft away from [Music] touchdown again stay tuned for that retro thrust system [Music] here and crew capsule touchdown welcome home to the newest six astronauts the blue steel team once more what appears to be a completely smooth flight for new Shephard uh our booster touching down at the at the landing pad and a soft Landing for our latest crew just a beautiful flight up and back I mean that is just one of the the the cleanest flights I've seen from this rocket but behind every rocket is an extraordinary team so a big shout out to the entire new Shepherd program what a beautiful flight today and another congratulations to the six newest astronauts what a day it has been now our capsule uh recovery team is currently going to be driving out to the Convoy to meet the capsule they're going to Safe the the capsule and get ready to open the hatch and welcome our astronauts back home and that Convoy includes obviously you know the vehicle team the new Shephard professionals but also the family members of our crew who without a doubt are excited to reunite with with their loved ones they newly minted astronauts I you know we saw it earlier in in one of the videos but some of those hugs when their astronauts come back to earth are probably some of the most memorable biggest hugs in a lifetime there there's some mean hugs those are some mean hugs we've captured some mean hugs on these uh on these webcasts well so talking about friends and family you know we talk these people have dreamed of going to space for a long time but with the those sorts of Dreams Come friends and family that support in so many ways emotional and otherwise um and on that note while we're waiting for the recovery crew to make it out to the capsule we were able a couple of days ago to have a chat with a very special former astronaut and someone who's got uh a tight connection with one of today's crew let's hear what ns20 astronaut Jim kitchen had to say about what this experience is like for astronaut as well as what his daughter Carson kitchen may be experiencing right now all right we've got a very special guest with us today from our ns20 crew Jim kitchen welcome back how's it feel to be uh down in West Texas once again it's exciting to be here to watch another space launch and uh here at the iconic El cyon hotel in lovely Van Horn Texas well hey this isn't just any you know space launch there's somebody very special going up tell me about her this is a special launch um when she was a little girl my daughter Carson she told me definitively that she's gonna be an astronaut and here we are 15 years later and she's actually gonna be an astronaut in a uh you know going to space in a in a couple of days how you obviously you're very proud Dad what's it's well there's got to be a lot of contradicting thoughts going through your head right now what are you feeling yeah well put um it's it's emotional her mom and I um are here her family's coming her friends are coming it's emotional um to see someone that's wanted to go to space and is actually you know a dream come true and you know to be able to to have that dream to to f have it fulfilled is is amazing but you know I think about Alan Shepard in 1961 going to space and then his daughter Laura Shepard doing that after I you know it's it's surreal to think that she and I are are gonna be you know have that in common um but it's um you know such mixed feelings on this because it's exciting but you know we're also you know watching watching this in with anticipation yeah that's your baby that's my baby so so um have you spoken to Carson uh since she started her her training what what's going through her head the these days at this moment it's one thing to be thinking about it when you're back at home it's another thing once you get to Van Horn you know it's real yeah I saw her last night and she's really excited she's a very positive person um she looked at me and said dad of all the people that have ever lived on this on this planet planet and we talked about that number it was 110 billion people uh that she gets an opportunity to go to space and she's dumbfounded by that we were looking at the Stars last night at the astronaut Village and she said you know people since the dawn of humanity have wanted to go to space and to actually be able to do that uh be one of the first 700 uh there's only been a hundred women 100 or so women that have have done that and so for her to be one of the the youngest women and the actually the youngest woman to go past the Carmen line is surreal um but you know she's she's all business she can't wait till till uh launch day and um but she's just having the time of her life she hugged me a couple times and it's just like I can't believe this is happening uh but she's excited and very confident amazing well talking about all business um your daughter Carson has found an amazing organization called orbit do you want to talk to us a little bit about uh about the organization and its mission in general what she wants to do is just encourage young women to pursue Jackie as we just saw Jim kitchen a very proud father of his daughter Carson kitchen one of the newest astronauts we have here and what we see on the screen we've got our uh our recovery crew the first person that ran out there was Sarah Knight uh our crew member seven what she does first is she she runs around the capsule to each one of the six Windows to each one of the six astronauts gets the thumbs up and uh make sure everybody is is happy and uh and safe and then the the rest of the team comes in you've seen passing in the background the the the rivan trucks there goes another one those are filled with uh with friends and family that are going to join here in a moment of course first thing is safety need to make sure that the capsule uh you know has vented whatever it needs to vent uh and that we're you know we've taken the the the lines of the parachutes off and then next what you'll see is somebody will bring over uh the the stairs to put under the hatch to put next to the hatch it is about it's about a meter it's about 3 feet the bottom of the hatch from the base of the um sorry the base of the hatch to the ground itself so it just makes for a more comfortable uh egress for our astronauts as they come home the capsule there seems to have found a really nice Clear Spot in our desert to land how how convenient I've been out there with the team trying to detangle the parachute lines from the brush that's out there and that is if you like taking out knots if you're one of those those odd people that really enjoys that and finds that I'm not one of those not one of those either stress relieving you should come join our team um but no not today it is a um a nice clean Landing of the the crew capsule you see the stairs have been put there so we're just moments away here from the ESS of our astronauts and the welcome home from their friends and family let's take a look e for [Music] coming [Music] [Music] stat [Music] ofing welcome back everybody to new Shepard's 26 mission to space and back if you miss it a completely nominal and successful flight of both the booster you see it nicely standing standing proud in the background a spectacular View and capsule with its ride in the background great the in the foreground uh a very happy capsule there uh we are our safety crew is uh safing the vehicle making sure everything is vented making sure the parachute uh lines are detached we've have the stairs that are all set up there we're waiting for the astronauts to uh to egress