WASHINGTON — Pete Davidson is going to space. And no, we're not talking about a "Saturday Night Live" sketch.
The "SNL" star and comedian will be part of a six-person crew taking off on Blue Origin's next flight later this month.
The crew, scheduled to blast off on March 23, includes Davidson, investor Marty Allen, philanthropists Marc and Sharon Hagle, teacher Jim Kitchen and Dr. George Nield.
It will be the 20th flight for Blue Origin, the interstellar rocket company started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Davidson, 28, is the latest celebrity to lift off toward the real stars, following "Star Trek" alum William Shatner — the oldest person to reach space at 90 — and famed NFL rusher Michael Strahan last year. Bezos also took a trip in Blue Origin's inaugural flight in July 2021.
The Blue Origin flights aren't quite out of earth's atmosphere. Instead, the trips take passengers about 65 miles from Earth's surface, right at the edge of "true space." There, those onboard experience about four minutes of weightlessness before returning to the planet.
All six astronauts will carry a postcard for the "Club for the Future" foundation, which Blue Origin set up to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM fields. The postcards are part of the "Postcards to Space" program, which sends messages from students up into space before returning them to their original senders.
The flight is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Central at Blue Origin's launch site in West Texas. It will be streamed live on the Blue Origin website.
