Jeff Bezos moves rocket launch to same day as potentially deadly geomagnetic space storm
dailystar.co.ukAmazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin has moved its next rocket launch to tomorrow—just as Earth is set to be hit by a powerful geomagnetic storm.The fourth New Shepard launch which was supposed to take place today has been rescheduled for tomorrow due to high winds at the firm's Texas spaceport.However, NASA has warned that a giant explosion from the Sun, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME) is headed for Earth tomorrow.
This could cause trouble for the six passengers aboard the New Shepard, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warning that the storm could cause "increased biological risk to astronauts or passengers and crew in high latitude, high altitude flights." The launch will take place at 1:20PM BST (UK time) / 12:20 UTC (US).
Like previous Blue Origin launches, the mission will be streamed in its entirety online. While previous Blue Origin launches have ferried famous names to the edge of space—notably 'Star Trek' icon William Shatner in October 2021—the next New Shepard launch is a little more lowkey.Among the passengers will be the first married couple on a commercial spaceflight, a former CEO of a party supply shop, and the spaceship's chief architect, Gary Lai.
You'll be able to watch the launch via Blue Origin's YouTube here. Bezos' spacefaring rival Elon Musk had a run-in with a geomagnetic storm of his own last month.
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