Thu, Oct 09, 2025
Insmed CEO Will Lewis Was One of Six ‘Space Nomads’ on the Rocket’s 15th Human Flight
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket completed its 15th crewed and 36th ever mission on October 8, turning six more paying customers into ‘astronauts’. Among this group was Insmed CEO Will Lewis, who chose to remain anonymous until after the flight for unknown reasons.
"Today’s mission is a testament to the relentless spirit of exploration exhibited by this crew," said Phil Joyce, SVP of the New Shepard program. "We are reminded of the profound effect that seeing Earth from above has on each astronaut. This experience fosters a deeper connection to our planet and drives us to continue working together to push the boundaries of what is possible."
The NS-36 crew, self-titled the “Space Nomads,” included Jeff Elgin, Danna Karagussova, Clint Kelly III, Aaron Newman, Vitalii Ostrovsky, and one participant who kept his identity under wraps for the crew reveal. This was Kelly’s second trip to space, having first flown on the NS-22 mission in 2022. This brings the total number of New Shepard passengers to 75, with the addition of several repeat flyers.
That mystery passenger turned out to be Will Lewis, CEO and chairman of the biotech company Insmed. Blue Origin confirmed his participation after landing, describing him as a lifelong adventurer who viewed the suborbital trip as the “fulfillment of a dream” but not disclosing the reason for his preflight secrecy. While it’s not uncommon for high-profile customers to want to keep things quiet, typically either to dodge attention or get more on the flip side, Lewis marks the first figure to bring this trend to space.
NS-36 lifted off from Blue Origin’s West Texas site at 9:40 am Eastern. As usual, the booster made a powered vertical landing about eight minutes after takeoff, followed by the crew capsule several minutes later, descending under parachutes back to Earth. The whole shebang lasted just over ten minutes, leaving enough time for the crew to experience weightlessness and take in a brief view of big blue from about 66 miles up at the recognized edge of space.
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