Blue Origin readies for fourth crewed flight to the edge of space

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is gearing up to launch its fourth crewed New Shepard flight Tuesday — a 10-minute rocket-powered thrill ride to the edge of space and back carrying five wealthy space tourists and the spacecraft's chief designer.

Gary Lai, one of Blue Origin's first employees and the architect of the New Shepard program, was added to the crew in place of comedian Pete Davidson after a launch delay and schedule conflict forced the "Saturday Night Live" star to withdraw. Blue Origin did not reveal what caused the delay or what might have been needed to correct the issue.

But for Lai, riding into space on a rocket he helped design, will give him a chance to personally evaluate "the safest human spaceflight vehicle ever designed or built or operated."