![]() ![]() This marked the first time that a rocket successfully landed itself under retropropulsion after launching something into space - suborbital or orbital - specifically for recovery and reuse. In November 2015, the second test flight took place seven months after the first, with the second New Shepard booster lofting its Crew Module to a height of 329,839 feet (100.5 kilometers) before touching down in the West Texas desert via a retropropulsive landing. The New Shepard 3 booster performs a propulsive landing during the NS-11 mission in May 2019 – credit: Blue Origin However, the first New Shepard booster, which is powered by a Blue Origin-produced BE-3 engine and designed to be reusable, was not recovered after a loss of pressure occurred within the vehicle’s hydraulic system. The first flight of New Shepard took place in April 2015, with a successful launch to an altitude of 307,000 feet (93.5 kilometers) - just below the Kármán line, the internationally-recognized boundary where space begins - and a safe return of the capsule, or Crew Module, to the surface. The New Shepard test program is meant to ensure the reliability and safety of the system, with multiple flights having been conducted on the three New Shepard vehicles that have flown thus far. It also serves as a science platform, enabling cheap, safe suborbital science access to space. ![]() The booster and capsule were built to serve the suborbital space tourism market, which will allow paying customers to experience a few minutes of flight time in microgravity before safely returning to the surface of Earth. New Shepard is the first in a line of vehicles that Blue Origin will potentially operate. This mission, also known as NS-13, saw 12 commercial payloads launched to the edge of space and back, including a NASA-developed sensor suite that could enable future lunar landing craft to perform safe and precise touchdowns on the surface of the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis exploration program.Īs in the name, the NS-13 mission was the 13th test flight of the New Shepard launch system, and the first such flight of 2020. The race is on, with both companies attempting to establish a heavy lift launch system capable of exploring deep space and perhaps even landing humans on the Moon.īut as it stands right now, SpaceX has the clear upper hand.After a ten-month lull in flights following the previous test of Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard launch system, the company conducted a launch and landing of the fully reusable booster and capsule duo.įollowing weather-related and technical issues during a window late in September, the flight took place from the company’s West Texas facility - near Van Horn, Texas - on Tuesday morning at just after 8:35 AM CDT / 13:35 UTC. It's likely the company will opt for a SpaceX-style vertical landing once the booster has delivered its payload. We have yet to see what kind of landing system Blue Origin will end up choosing. Cranking Out TanksĪccording to Ars, Blue Origin has developed a fast and iterative engineering process to test out a variety of different test tank designs (though we'll believe that when we see it). The rocket is being developed under the codename "Project Jarvis." The first test tank rolled out today to Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, as the images show. The test tank bears a striking resemblance to SpaceX's Super Heavy booster prototypes - which is striking, because the two space companies are currently embroiled in an increasingly bitter feud. ![]() Project Jarvisīlue Origin is making headwind on developing a fully reusable rocket stage designed to launch its New Glenn rocket, according to images taken near the test site and published by Ars Technica today. ![]()
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