Tag: New Shepard

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.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is heading back to the launch pad again on Dec. 19 to send its New Shepard rocket ship on an uncrewed space mission for the first time in 15 months.

The first launch attempt ended today with a postponement, due to a ground system issue that needed troubleshooting at Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas.

The second attempt is scheduled for no earlier than 10:37 a.m. CT (8:37 a.m. PT), depending on weather and technical readiness. Blue Origin will provide streaming video coverage of the countdown, launch and landing via its website starting at T-minus-20 minutes.

This mission, known as NS24, will send 33 science payloads to the edge of space and back, providing a few minutes of zero gravity for research purposes. It’s essentially a do-over for a flight in September 2022 that ended prematurely due to a malfunction of the New Shepard booster’s hydrogen-fueled rocket engine.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture plans to send its New Shepard suborbital spaceship on an uncrewed research mission as early as Dec. 18, marking the company’s first launch since a rocket engine malfunction spoiled a similar uncrewed mission more than a year ago.

In an update posted to X / Twitter, Blue Origin said the upcoming mission, known as NS24, would carry 33 science and research payloads — plus 38,000 postcards sent in by students as part of a program organized by the Club for the Future, Blue Origin’s educational nonprofit.

No further details were available, but it’s possible that at least some of the payloads (and postcards) have been carried over from the mission that went awry in September 2022. New Shepard’s launch escape system worked as planned for that NS23 mission, and the capsule was unharmed even though the booster was destroyed.

A successful uncrewed mission could smooth the way for the resumption of crewed flights soon afterward.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture says a launch anomaly that forced the suspension of its suborbital spaceflights last September was caused by a structural failure of the rocket engine’s nozzle.

Corrective actions are being taken, and flights are expected to resume “soon,” Blue Origin said today. The redesigned New Shepard spaceship will re-fly the payloads that were part of the uncrewed mission that went awry.

No people were aboard New Shepard during last year’s launch from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas. No one was injured on the ground, and there was no damage to ground-based systems. All of the debris was recovered in the designated hazard area.

Flights have been suspended during Blue Origin’s investigation, which was conducted by a team including representatives from NASA and the National Transportation Safety Board with oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration. In an emailed statement, the FAA said the investigation “remains open.”

“The agency is currently reviewing the company’s submission of its mishap report,” it said. “FAA approval is required to close the investigation and for the New Shepard System to return to flight.”

Before the failure of the uncrewed research mission, known as NS-23, Blue Origin had flown 31 customers and special guests (including Bezos and his brother Mark, and Star Trek actor William Shatner) on six crewed suborbital trips. There were also more than a dozen uncrewed flights, many of which carried research payloads.

Blue Origin’s only other New Shepard failure occurred during the first test flight of the suborbital launch system in 2015. As was the case for that earlier failure, last September’s mishap led to the loss of the rocket booster, but the capsule that would have held crew was recovered safely. Blue Origin said if there had been crew members aboard, they would have had a safe but rocky ride.

A booster misfire caused an early end today for an uncrewed suborbital space mission launched by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture.

It was the first Blue Origin mission to fall short of its goal since the first flight of the company’s New Shepard suborbital spaceship in 2015. Blue Origin didn’t immediately say what caused today’s anomaly. The Federal Aviation Administration said it would oversee an investigation into the mishap and would eventually have to sign off on Blue Origin’s return to flight.

No people were aboard the spacecraft. Instead, this mission was dedicated to scientific payloads and STEM education. The New Shepard spaceship carried 36 payloads, half of which were funded by NASA, plus tens of thousands of postcards that were sent in by students and flown courtesy of Blue Origin’s educational foundation. the Club for the Future.

This was the first dedicated payload launch since August 2021, coming amid a string of six crewed suborbital flights that saw 31 customers and special guests (including Bezos himself) go to space and back.