British explorer based in UAE to launch into space on Blue Origin flight

Hamish Harding will experience a few minutes of weightlessness after he travels 106 kilometres into orbit on May 20

UAE adventurer Hamish Harding and five other passengers launched to the edge of space on Blue Origin's New Shepard flight on June 4. Photo: Blue Origin screenshot

Hamish Harding (second to right) with his fellow passengers prepare for their upcoming NS-21 Blue Origin space tourism flight. Katya Echazarreta (right), Victor Correa Hespanha (third to right), Jaison Robinson (third to left), Victor Vescovo (second to left) and Evan Dick (left). Photo: Blue Origin

Hamish Harding, a British businessman in the UAE, will fly to the edge of space on a Blue Origin flight. Chris Whiteoak / The National

From left: Dylan Taylor, Lane Bess, Cameron Bess, Laura Shepard Churchley, Michael Strahan and Evan Dick were launched into space onboard a Blue Origin rocket on Saturday, December 11, 2021. AP

Billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of e-commerce company Amazon and Blue Origin, with the crew before the commercial space flight near Van Horn, Texas. Reuters

Jeff Bezos walks behind the crew as they proceed to board Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. Reuters

Blast off as the New Shepard rocket heads for space. Blue Origin said that Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley were 'honorary guests' while the rest of the crew were paying customers. AFP

The New Shepard rocket soon after launch. The mission is Blue Origin's third manned space flight. AFP

Spectators near Van Horn, Texas, watch as Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket heads for space. AFP

Among the crew of the New Shepard rocket was Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of the first American in space, Alan Shepard, after whom the spacecraft was named. Reuters

Blue Origin’s New Shepard crew capsule returns back to Earth after a brief suborbital flight on Saturday, December 11, 2021. AFP

The crew capsule soon after landing in West Texas. AFP

Laura Shepard Churchley leads the crew after their return from space. She brought along a small piece of her father's capsule and some mementos from his later trip to the lunar surface aboard Apollo 14 in 1971. AFP

The commercial space flight was slightly longer than 10 minutes and reached an altitude of about 100 kilometres. It was five minutes and 186km shorter than Alan Shepard's inaugural flight. AFP

Laura Shepard Churchley wears her father's Naval Academy class ring after her trip to space. Reuters

'Good Morning America' co-anchor and former NFL star Michael Strahan with Laura Shepard Churchley on the landing pad after their return from space. AFP

British explorer Hamish Harding, who has called the UAE his home for more than a decade, will travel to space on a Blue Origin suborbital flight.

The businessman, 50, is known for his adrenalin-fuelled stunts, including journeying to the bottom of the ocean in a submarine in 2021.

He will be part of Blue Origin’s NS-21 flight, which will also fly five other paying customers, on May 20, with a launch window starting at 5.30pm UAE time.

The flight also includes investor and NS-19 crew member Evan Dick; electrical engineer and former Nasa test engineer Katya Echazarreta, also the first Mexican-born woman to fly into space; civil production engineer Victor Correa Hespanha; and adventurer Jaison Robinson.

This mission will be the fifth human flight for Blue Origin’s New Shepard programme and the team was announced by the company on May 9.

The space tourism company has launched 20 people on these flights since 2021, including company owner and Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos and Star Trek actor William Shatner.

The suborbital flight involves a vertical launch that takes passengers about 106 kilometres above the ground, bringing a few minutes of weightlessness.

It is a 10-minute trip from lift-off near the rural West Texas town of Van Horn to a parachute landing.

A ticket price on a Blue Origin flight has not been revealed, but a ticket was previously sold for $28 million in an auction.