Blue Origin plans to launch its New Shepard rocket from its private ranch facility in West Texas on Saturday, August 23, carrying over 40 payloads, including experiments for NASA. The mission, designated as NS-35, is the fourth spaceflight of the New Shepard since Blue Origin’s all-women spaceflight in April.
The launch is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. ET) and will provide more than three minutes of microgravity for experiments from NASA and several U.S. universities. The payload manifest also includes thousands of student-written postcards being transported to the edge of space on behalf of Blue Origin’s education nonprofit, Club for the Future.
The New Shepard rocket is being used for scientific research, as it has been used in previous uncrewed flights to simulate the moon’s low gravity and test NASA technology. The spacecraft will reach supersonic speeds during its ascent, surpassing 2,000 mph before separating from the rocket booster.
Blue Origin will provide a live webcast of the launch on its website about 15 minutes ahead of liftoff. Spectators in the region can see the spacecraft ascending into the sky by pulling over on U.S. Route 54 or visiting public locations such as Guadalupe Mountains National Park or the Scenic overlook spot off Interstate 10.
Blue Origin’s founder, Jeff Bezos, has been involved with the company since its early days and has even boarded one of its New Shepard spacecraft for a crewed voyage in July 2021. The company is competing with SpaceX for NASA’s business and other private companies, but also offers space tourism experiences to customers.
Source: https://eu.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2025/08/22/blue-origin-rocket-launch-jeff-bezos-texas/85758926007