Pete Davidson will blast into space for free on Jeff Bezos' rocket
UPDATE: Mar. 18, 2022, 2:57 p.m. Sadly, it seems that an unexpected launch date change has forced Pete Davidson to cancel his space trip. "Blue Origin's 20th flight of New Shepard has shifted to Tuesday, March 29," the official Blue Origin Twitter account posted on Thursday. "Pete Davidson is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission. We will announce the sixth crew member in the coming days."
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Add this to the list of things Pete Davidson gets to do that could cause other men from Staten Island to look up to the heavens, shake their fists, and ask where they went wrong in life.
Saturday Night Live cast member Davidson will be launched over 60 miles up in the sky to kiss the Karman line, where Earth's atmosphere and outer space meet, counting himself among America's newest civilian astronauts.
Davidson, who is in his eighth season on SNL, will blast off later this month on the fourth crewed flight for New Shepard, a reusable rocket system built by Jeff Bezos' commercial space tourism company Blue Origin. The actor is a high-profile guest, not a paying customer.
Liftoff is targeted for 8:30 a.m. CT / 9:30 a.m. ET on March 23 from just outside Van Horn, Texas. No word yet on whether Kim Kardashian, who Davidson has dated following her split from Kanye West, will come along to West Texas to wish him a bon voyage.
Foreshadowing his foray into space, Davidson played the part of an astronaut in a sketch with host Elon Musk last May. Davidson's idiot character, Chad, who says OK to just about everything, sacrifices his life to save a Mars colony in the "near future."
Musk: I want the world to see the man who gave everything to ensure that humanity's future will be among the stars.
Chad: OK.
The journey begins with a 60-foot autonomous rocket, which will send the six spacefarers on a ride three times the speed of sound. Though the trip will last a brief 11 minutes, the company says that's long enough for the passengers to experience weightlessness and get an overview of the planet.
After the crew capsule separates from the booster, it will free fall back to Earth, slowing down with parachutes as it nears the ground. Just before touchdown, a thrust system will heave a cloud of air under the capsule to cushion it for a landing of 1 mph.
Blue Origin announced Monday the crew for the upcoming flight, which will include five customers: Marty Allen, former CEO of Party America; husband and wife Sharon and Marc Hagle, founder of SpaceKids Global and CEO of Tricor International, respectively; Jim Kitchen, a teacher and entrepreneur; and George Nield, president of Commercial Space Technologies.
A year ago, the company auctioned off the first ticket for New Shepard and donated the earnings to its foundation, Club for the Future, for space-focused charities. The winner of the seat paid $28 million, according to Blue Origin.
Since initiating its human spaceflights, Blue Origin has become known for its onboard celebrities. Most recently, the company sent Good Morning America host Michael Strahan up in December 2021. Prior to that, it flew the space captain of America's heart, Star Trek star William Shatner, who became the oldest person to fly in space at the ripe age of 90 in October 2021.
Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA's moon and Mars missions, chatting up astronauts and history-making discoverers, and jetting above the clouds. Through 17 years of reporting, she's covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia, and The Capital in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association's top honor, Best in Show, and national recognition for narrative storytelling. For each year she has covered space, Sauers has won National Headliner Awards, including first place for her Sex in Space series. Send space tips and story ideas to [email protected] or text 443-684-2489. Follow her on X at @elishasauers.
