Aeronautics firm Blue Origin successfully launched its 15th space tourism mission on October 8, sending six passengers on a short journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere, including the first Kazakh woman spacefarer from Kazakhstan.

The company’s New Shepard rocket lifted off from its West Texas launch site at 9:40 am EDT, beginning the suborbital flight designated NS-36. A bird’s-eye view Blue Origin Space Flight taking off from Texas (Photo: X@BlueOrigin).

The mission went smoothly. New Shepard’s first stage returned for a controlled vertical landing about eight minutes after liftoff, while the capsule carrying the crew descended under parachutes, touching down safely in the Texas desert a few minutes later.

Aboard the capsule were franchise executive Jeff Elgin, media entrepreneur Danna K

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