Pete Davidson, the”Saturday Night Live” comedian, is joining the crew of Jeff Bezos’ next Blue Origin flight, set for March 23. This marks the fourth human flight launched by the private spaceflight company and its 20th overall.
Announced on Monday, Davidson’s fellow crew members will be Party America CEO Marty Allen; philanthropist and real estate mogul Marc Hagle and his wife, Sharon Hagle; University of North Carolina professor Jim Kitchen; and Dr. George Nield, president of Commercial Space Technologies.
#NewShepard mission #NS20 will include Marty Allen, @NBCSNL’s Pete Davidson, @SharonHagle, Marc Hagle, @JimKitchen, and @DrGeorgeNield. Liftoff on March 23 is targeted for 8:30 am CDT / 13:30 UTC from Launch Site One. Read more 🚀: https://t.co/z8jXdnA9n4 pic.twitter.com/a2zIdCf2Mt
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) March 14, 2022
Blue Origin’s first space expedition took place in July 2021, with Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, aviator Wally Funk and Oliver Daeman, the youngest person ever to enter space, aboard the privately funded, reusable spacecraft. Funk previously held the record for the oldest person to go to space, at 82 years old. The second flight had “Star Trek” actor William Shatner on board, who boldly broke that record at 90 years old. Most recently, “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan was aboard the third flight back in November. That flight marked the first time Blue Origin operated at its maximum capacity of six members, plus it was the first time a parent and child went into space together.
Each Blue Origin flight has made history in some way. Davidson’s flight is less clear, though it will be the first time an “SNL” cast member has been to space, not counting a sketch (Guinness World Records may hold off on that one).
Davidson has been on “SNL” since 2014, and last year he appeared in James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad.” Recently, he’s made headlines for dating Kim Kardashian, which will be shown in the new Hulu reality series “The Kardashians,” and he has a romantic comedy, titled “Meet Cute” with Kaley Cuoco, coming up next.
Each person on board the March flight will carry a postcard on behalf of Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, whose Postcards to Space program gives students access to space on Blue Origin’s rockets. The Club’s mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM for the benefit of Earth.