Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture today sent its New Shepard rocket ship on its first suborbital trip to space in 15 months — and although no people were on the craft this time, the research mission boosted confidence that crewed flights will resume in the new year.
“Following a thorough review of today’s mission, we look forward to flying our next crewed flight soon,” launch commentator Erika Wagner said as she wrapped up Blue Origin’s streaming-video coverage.
Her fellow commentator, Eddie Seyffert, said everything looked good during the 10-minute-long flight. “I would call this the best day at work for me,” he said.
The flight from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas followed the profile that the New Shepard program has used for 23 previous missions over the past nine years — including six crewed flights. Liftoff came at 10:42 a.m. CT (8:42 a.m. PT), and the rocket booster sent the capsule toward the 100-kilometer (62-mile) line that marks the internationally accepted space boundary.
Capsule separation took place a little more than two minutes after launch. The reusable booster landed itself on a pad not far from where it was launched. Meanwhile, New Shepard’s capsule rose to a height of 65.8 miles (106 kilometers) above ground level, and then descended to its own parachute-assisted landing in the Texas desert.
