Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket Achieves Successful Launch Following 2022 Flight Test Failure

On Tuesday morning, Blue Origin's commercial rocket, designed for brief tourist trips to the edge of space, successfully launched on an uncrewed science mission.

The New Shepard rocket launched at 11:43 a.m. ET from Blue Origin's facilities on a private ranch in West Texas. The 33 science experiments onboard experienced several minutes of microgravity before returning safely to Earth. The rocket booster landed approximately seven minutes after launch, and the capsule landed safely about 10 minutes after launch.

The initial launch on Monday was canceled because of ground system problems. However, Tuesday's launch went smoothly, with mission control successfully completing the test flight without any issues. Even though no passengers were on board, this achievement sets the stage for Blue Origin to resume offering space trips to adventurous individuals.

Erika Wagner, senior director of emerging market development for Blue Origin, expressed excitement for the upcoming crewed flight during the live launch broadcast following the successful test flight. This return to flight comes after more than a year of recovery following a failed uncrewed test flight for the Jeff Bezos-founded company.

New Shepard's rocket booster had a perfect touchdown after launch.

On September 12, 2022, a batch of science instruments was scheduled to be launched aboard a New Shepard rocket and spacecraft by Blue Origin. However, just one minute into the flight, the rocket faced a challenging moment known as Max Q, which is experienced at a relatively low altitude when the atmosphere is still dense and the vehicle is moving at close to the speed of sound.

At that moment, the rocket seemed to release a tremendous burst of flames. The New Shepard capsule, positioned on top of the rocket, then activated its launch abort system, igniting a small engine to propel itself safely away from the malfunctioning rocket. This system operated as designed, guiding the capsule to a secure landing.

Parachutes slowed the capsule's return to Earth for a safe landing.

Blue Origin

Blue Origin disclosed that the engine nozzle was the root cause of the failure, as it had a malfunction that led to the shut down of the engine. This incident occurred after 22 successful missions, including six with passengers, and even Jeff Bezos had flown on the rocket in 2021.

Blue Origin's successful return to flight with New Shepard coincides with the company's efforts to develop a powerful rocket known as New Glenn. This massive rocket is designed to transport satellites and other large payloads into orbit, adding to the company's ambitious space endeavors.

The rocket has been delayed for years. The BE-4 engines, which will be used to power New Glenn's rocket booster, will also be used to fuel a new line of rockets developed by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. United Launch Alliance's upcoming Vulcan Centaur rocket is scheduled to launch its first mission in January, delivering a NASA-sponsored lander to the moon. New Glenn also has an important upcoming first launch, with the potential to carry a NASA satellite to study the magnetized area of space around Mars as early as next year.