“Today’s Booster Failure of NS-23 Is a Compelling Reminder of the Risks of Spaceflight.'

However, for today’s mission attempt, the capsule was configured to carry a range of scientific experiments and other curiosities into the microgravity environment.Īt approximately 10:26 am EDT (15:26 pm BST) the New Shepard rocket blasted off from Launch Site One in West Texas as planned. Just last month, the company successfully flew a full complement beyond the 100 km high Kármán line - which is considered by many to be the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and the space environment. The engine then fires up once again, killing the rocket’s velocity and allowing it to land safely on a set of four landing legs.ĭuring crewed flights, the pressurized capsule has enough room to seat six citizen astronauts. Having completed its task of shunting the capsule to its required altitude, the core stage of the rocket uses a series of fins and air brakes to orientate itself and slow its speed. Where the capsule relies on parachutes to return to Earth, the booster takes a riskier approach to descent. Both the pressurized crew capsule and the main booster have been designed to fly on multiple missions.

Without doubt the most impressive aspect of the New Shepard launcher is its emphasis on reusability. The capsule then descends safely back to Earth under the protection of its parachutes and soft landing thrusters. xFDsUMONTh- Blue Origin September 12, 2022ĭuring such a mission, the launcher’s single BE-3PM engine is capable of delivering 110,000 pounds of thrust to push the capsule to a height of 106 km. Instead, it has been designed with short space tourism flights and microgravity research purposes in mind.īooster failure on today’s uncrewed flight.

Unlike other more powerful rockets like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 workhorse, the New Shepard isn’t capable of slipping free of Earth’s gravity and achieving a stable orbit. Blue Origin's latest mission was the 23rd outing for the New Shepard launch system.

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