Blue Origin will transport husband-and-wife couples to suborbital space

Marc Hagle (left) and Sharon Hagle during training for the NS-20 Blue Origin flight in March 2022. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

The first husband-and-wife Blue Origin flight crew will return to space. Sharon Hagle, founder of the non-profit SpaceKids Global, will join their husband Marc on a future Blue Origin journey to suborbital space. (The New Shepard spacecraft flight date has not yet been announced due to an anomaly inquiry during an uncrewed mission last month.)

Sharon stated, "Marc and I are thrilled to return to space for a second time, but we are even more thrilled to bring hope and encouragement to children all over the world who aspire to go to space," which was scheduled to coincide with World Space Week, which begins Tuesday (Oct. 4).

Sharon also hopes to invite a few SpaceKids Global representatives to the launch to encourage STEAM+ (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics, and environment) engagement.

The Hagles flew into suborbital space for the first time on March 31 on Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-20, the company's fourth crewed spaceflight. The trip transported Gary Lai (New Shepard's architect and a veteran Blue Origin employee) and five paying clients. Marc is the president and CEO of Tricor International, a property development company that has created and controlled over 17.4 million square feet of commercial property in the United States. The Hagles Foundation supports groups in the arts, sciences, education, and health. All Blue Origin flights, including crewed ones, have been halted after an uncrewed flight on September 12 experienced a booster anomaly around a minute into the flight. The reason is being investigated by Blue Origin and the Federal Aviation Administration.