---
title: "Blue Origin Space Tourists Stuck in Rocket for 45 Minutes as Launch Delayed"
description: "For over 45 minutes this morning, Blue Origin had to hold the launch of its latest rocket launch into the upper atmosphere."
date: "2022-03-31"
modified: "2022-03-31"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/blue-origin-tourists-stuck-launch-delayed"
categories:
  - "Blue Origin"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "blue origin"
  - "new shepard"
  - "the digest"
---

# Blue Origin Space Tourists Stuck in Rocket for 45 Minutes as Launch Delayed

![For over 45 minutes this morning, Blue Origin had to hold the launch of its latest rocket launch into the upper atmosphere.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/blue-origin-tourists-stuck-launch-delayed.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Blue Origin\</em\>*

## Please Hold

For over 45 minutes this morning, Blue Origin had to hold the launch of its latest rocket launch into the upper atmosphere. After the agonizing wait, the company put the countdown clock back on ten minutes, declaring the New Shepard craft "go for launch" — while largely acting like nothing happened.

Then, seven minutes into that countdown, another hold of [about a minute](<https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1509530347582590986>) was called.

The company then finally retracted the rocket's holding arms at around 10 am EST, successfully launching the capsule to an altitude of over 60 miles — although, it's worth noting, still [hundreds of miles short](<https://futurism.com/blue-origin-feuding-virgin-galactic>) of being able to enter the Earth's orbit.

## Guessing Game

Strikingly, the company didn't give an official explanation as to why the launch was being delayed, leaving its live audience of over 13,000 on YouTube — and the company's two commentators — guessing as well.

After the launch, a Blue Origin spokesperson told Futurism that "we identified a telemetry issue with the booster that required extra time to evaluate and clear."

While it's far from the first time a crewed rocket launch has faced a hold — in all fairness, 45 minutes isn't *that* long — the company's silence on what happened should give pause.

The launch dubbed NS-20 had [six anxiously waiting passengers](<https://www.blueorigin.com/news/ns-20-mission-updates>) on board, including CEO billionaires, entrepreneurs, and Blue Origin's chief architect Gary Lai. "Saturday Night Live" star Pete Davidson was also meant to accompany them, but backed out last week for unknown reasons.

*Updated with comment from Blue Origin.*

**More on Blue Origin:** [*First Married Space Tourist Couple Say They’re Taking a Vacation with SpaceX Too*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/married-space-tourists>)

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)