It turns out Pete Davidson has got better things to do than going to space.
Just days after it was announced that the Saturday Night Live comedian would be joining an upcoming Blue Origin shuttle launch, taking him to the edge of space, the company has revealed that Davidson will no longer be on board when the flight lifts off later this month.
In a statement, the commercial spaceflight company confirmed that Davidson 'is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission'. No reason was given for Davidson's decision to step down, with Blue Origin only adding that a replacement crew member would be announced 'in the coming days'.
The comedian was all set to become the latest in a growing list of major celebrities to have ventured to space on board a Blue Origin rocket, with William Shatner, Michael Strahan and company founder Jeff Bezos all having securing places on board over the past year.
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Heading into low orbit without Davidson on the upcoming flight are a selection of wealthy businesspeople who likely purchased their tickets independently: investor Marty Allen; SpaceKids Global founder Sharon Hagle; her husband and Tricor International CEO Mark Hagle; and Commercial Space Technologies President George Nield. The fifth crew member is Jim Kitchen – a school teacher and adventurer who has visited all 193 UN member countries, making space a natural next step.
Rumours of Davidson's potential link-up with Blue Origin came after he and girlfriend Kim Kardashian were spotted arriving at Bezos's LA home for dinner earlier this year, as sources claimed that the comedian had aspirations of going to space.
While Davidson himself had not commented on his involvement with Bezos and Blue Origin, a source claimed ahead of confirmation of his involvement that 'Pete was excited' about the plans. "They haven’t signed a contract yet, but it looks like it’s going to happen... he got on really well with Jeff when they met," they said.
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The suborbital Blue Origin shuttle flights last about 10 minutes, allowing crew member to fly about 60 miles above Earth's surface and giving them the chance to experience a few minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth in a parachute-controlled descent.
The next Blue Origin launch is set to lift off on March 23 in West Texas at 1:30pm GMT.
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Topics: Pete Davidson, Space, Jeff Bezos