Blue Origin has completed its 36th New Shepard flight with a crew of six 'stratonatus', including an anonymous mystery passenger who requested to remain undisclosed until after the mission. Olivia Palamountain reports

Blue Origin successfully completed the 36th flight for its New Shepard programme on October 8, carrying six 'stratonauts' beyond the Kármán line, the internationally recognised boundary of space at 62 miles above Earth.

'Stratonaut' is a term coined by Globetrender in its Brave New World report. Published in September 2o25 (and free to download), the report showcases key takeaways from our debut travel industry retreat that took place at the Juvet Landscape Hotel in Norway earlier in this year.

The NS-36 crew included Jeff Elgin, Danna Karagussova, Clint Kelly III, Aaron Newman, Vitalii Ostrovsky and Will Lewis. Lewis, the chairman and CEO of Insmed, a biopharmaceutical company, was revealed as the mystery sixth passenger.

The flight from Launch Site One in West Texas is the first time the company has carried an unnamed crew member since beginning human flights in 2021. New Shepard has now flown 86 humans comprising 80 individuals into space, with Kelly flying for the second time following his August 2022 NS-22 flight.

Phil Joyce, senior vice president of New Shepard, says: "Today's mission is a testament to the relentless spirit of exploration exhibited by this crew. We are reminded of the profound effect that seeing Earth from above has on each astronaut. This experience fosters a deeper connection to our planet and drives us to continue working together to push the boundaries of what is possible."

Ticket prices for the 10-minute flights are estimated between US$200,000 to US$300,000, though one seat on the first flight in 2021 sold at auction for US$28 million.

The NS-36 mission launched at 8.30am local time with lift-off streamed live on Blue Origin's website. The flight follows the standard New Shepard profile where stratonauts travel beyond the Kármán line before unbuckling to float weightless and observe Earth through the capsule windows during several minutes of microgravity.
Elgin has been an executive in the franchise industry for over 40 years, founding FranChoice in 2000 and building it into a premier franchisee referral network that has assisted more than 500,000 people in pursuing business ownership over the past 25 years.

Newman brings particularly diverse exploration credentials to the flight, having travelled to the stern of the Titanic, descended into the Mariana Trench and twice attempted to summit Mount Everest. He founded Exploring Our Deep World, a non-profit advancing education, conservation and scientific research of Earth's deep waters, and serves on boards including TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors).

Karagussova co-founded Portals, a multimodal ecosystem featuring digital self-regulation tools fusing art and science. A lifelong mountaineer who has summited Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Elbrus, she views space "not as entertainment, but as a transformative frontier where human evolution begins within each of us and extends beyond our world."

Space tourism flights have faced mounting criticism for environmental impact. According to The Independent, research published in the AGU journal Earth's Future, routine space tourism launches may undermine progress in reversing ozone depletion, with soot particles from rockets nearly 500 times more efficient at warming the atmosphere than other soot sources combined.The Independent also reports that critics have raised ethical concerns surrounding social inequality and pointed to the limited scientific value that such missions offer compared to research-focused space programmes. However, Karagussova claims that tourist flights will "democratise access to space", though at current pricing the experience remains accessible only to ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Kelly holds a PhD from the University of Michigan and led government and industry research in computer science and robotics. At DARPA in 1984, he launched the Autonomous Land Vehicle project that catalysed today's driverless cars. He has photographed wildlife on every continent with his wife and authored a 486-page penguin book covering all 21 penguin species.

Ostrovsky, a Ukrainian businessman and systems analyst, has lived in more than 100 countries across every continent over the past decade, from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica. He applies his systems mindset to business and technology whilst building hospitality and property ventures.

The New Shepard programme is Blue Origin's suborbital tourism offering, distinct from orbital missions conducted by SpaceX. Passengers experience weightlessness for several minutes but do not achieve the velocity required to orbit Earth, returning to the launch site within 10 minutes of lift-off.

Future flight bookings are open through the company's website. Blue Origin has not disclosed the waiting list length or booking timeline for prospective stratonauts.