It’s Friday, January 23, 2026, and if you’ve been looking up at the West Texas sky, you might have seen six more people join the “astronaut” club. Yesterday, Blue Origin kicked off the year by successfully completing NS-38, the 38th flight of the New Shepard program.
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The thing is, this flight pushed the total number of humans flown by Blue Origin to 98. We are officially just two seats away from the big 100. Or nothing.
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NS-38: Field Notes from the Desert
It was a smooth 11-minute ride to the edge of space, but the lead-up had some drama. Here’s the ground reality:
The Last-Minute Swap: Just two days before launch, Andrew Yaffe had to pull out due to illness. But the show must go on—Dr. Laura Stiles, Blue Origin’s own Director of Launch Operations, stepped in. The thing is, she went from leading the launch team to sitting in the seat. Those too.
The “Overview Effect” Crew: The capsule was packed with heavy hitters, from retired Air Force Colonel Jim Hendren to Dr. Linda Edwards, a two-time breast cancer survivor who’s been dreaming of this for 40 years. Let’s be real—seeing the Earth from the Kármán line hits differently when you’ve spent four decades waiting for it.
The “Range” Delay: The launch was briefly held up because of “unauthorized personnel” on the range. It’s an ongoing situation where people try to get too close to the action. But once the coast was clear, the BE-3 engine did its thing.
The Perfect Landing: The booster nailed its vertical landing back at the pad, and the capsule floated down under three parachutes about three minutes later. And here’s the kicker—the telemetry showed they hit an altitude of nearly 350,000 feet. Or nothing.
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New Shepard NS-38: Mission Profile
| Metric | Status / Data | The “Ground” Reality |
| Launch Date | Jan 22, 2026 | First Blue Origin flight of the year. |
| Crew Count | 6 Humans | Includes late-addition Dr. Laura Stiles. |
| Total Blue Astronauts | 98 | Only 2 more to hit the 100-person milestone. |
| Max Altitude | ~106 km | Well above the Kármán line. |
| Flight Duration | ~11 Minutes | Standard suborbital profile. |
And Here’s the Kicker…
The thing is, the mission patch was a total tear-jerker. It had initials for Andrew Yaffe’s parents—”CU” for his father, the “Copper King,” and “FLY” for his mother. Even though he didn’t fly yesterday, his story was still on the crew’s sleeves. Those too.
One side comment—Blue Origin is ramping up. They just announced a 6 Tbps space-based network called TeraWave earlier this week. It’s an ongoing situation where Jeff Bezos isn’t just taking tourists to space anymore; he’s trying to build the infrastructure for the “road to space” he always talks about. Or nothing.
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End…
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