Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launches 6 space tourists aboard NS-30 flight, Indian-origin Tushar Mehta among crew: Watch

Billionaire Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin on February 25 (local time) launched its 10th space tourism mission, sending six passengers, including Indian-origin Tushar Mehta, to the suborbital space.

The suborbital New Shepard vehicle of Blue Origin took off from its West Texas facility on Tuesday at 10:50 a.m. EST (15:50 GMT and 9:50 a.m. local Texas time), after a slight delay because of a hold.

The six crew members on the New Shepherd (NS) spacecraft named themselves “Perfect 10”, according to launch commentator Seyffert.

“Well, that makes perfect sense to me, considering the fact that this is, in fact, our 10th human flight.” he said during the livestreaming of the Blue Origin mission.

The Perfect 10 mission of Blue Origin was the 10th crewed mission of the vehicle, which includes a reusable booster and a reusable capsule.

Ten minutes in space

After launching to the suborbital space, the NS-30 flight remained there with the crew members for around seven minutes. The vehicle's booster was seen touching down a dusty Texas desert seven minutes after liftoff. Three minutes after the touchdown, the flight's capsule was seen returning to the ground.

Watch the touchdown video here:

Blue Origin called its latest flight NS-30 because it was the 30th overall flight of New Shepherd.

New Shepard has now flown 52 people into space, including repeat astronauts, including its latest mission.

The company has not revealed how much the ticket to get onboard their flight costs.

New Shepherd flights give passengers the experience of weightlessness during the ride, as well as to see the earth against a backdrop of the darkness of the space. Each flight lasts for about 10-12 minutes, from liftoff to capsule touchdown.

Tushar Mehta among six crew members

The ‘Perfect 30’ flight comprised of six crew members, including Lane Bess, Jesús Calleja, Elaine Chia Hyde, Dr. Richard Scott, Tushar Shah, and an undisclosed sixth crew member.

The NS-30 mission was Lane Bess' second flight with Blue Origin.

According to Jeff Bezos' company, Tushar Mehta is a partner and the co-head of research at a quantitative hedge fund in New York City. He studied physics as an undergraduate at MIT and high-energy experimental particle physics for his PhD, also at MIT. He and his wife, Sara, are philanthropists focused on addressing poverty, health, and education issues.

Mehta became the second Indian-origin person after Gopi Thotakura to take a Blue Origin flight.