Sylvie Claire / March 15, 2022
American comedian Pete Davidson, who has been making headlines since the revelation of his relationship with reality star Kim Kardashian, will fly into space next week on a Blue Origin rocket, the company announced Monday.
For Jeff Bezos' space company, this will be the fourth manned flight, i.e. with humans on board. It will take off like the previous ones from West Texas. Invited by Blue Origin, Pete Davidson will be accompanied by five other passengers, including businessmen, who paid an undisclosed price for the trip. The flight, scheduled at 08H30 local on March 23, will last only about ten minutes in total.
Pete Davidson, 28, is known for being part of the cult NBC show Saturday Night Live. Recently, he is also the target of the wrath of Kanye West, ex-husband of Kim Kardashian. The divorce of these two stars was officially pronounced in early March.
Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket lifts off vertically and, at an altitude of about 75 km, the capsule separates from the launcher, continuing its trajectory until it reaches more than 100 km above the Karman line, which marks the beginning of space according to international convention. The passengers can then detach themselves from their seats, float for a few moments in weightlessness and admire the curvature of the Earth through large portholes.
The capsule then begins a free fall to return to Earth, braked by parachutes, then retrofuses. Jeff Bezos himself participated in the first flight of New Shepard. Since then, the spacecraft has also carried the actor playing the iconic Captain Kirk of the Star Trek series, William Shatner, as well as Laura Shepard Churchley, the daughter of the first American to go into space.