After modifying the engine components, the Blue Origin space rocket lifted off from West Texas and flew to the edge of space on Tuesday with a cargo of scientific research and technical experiments.
First Flight in 15 Months
This was the first flight for the 60-foot (18-meter) Blue Origin rocket since September 12, 2022, when the engine malfunctioned, destroying the rocket and leading to the emergency ejection of the crew capsule in mid-air. There were no passengers on that mission, and the capsule safely detached from the failed rocket and descended under parachutes in a controlled manner.
Launch Payload
The flight on Tuesday did not carry any passengers. Instead, Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, launched 33 payloads for NASA, research institutions, and commercial companies. Some of these payloads were relaunched on Tuesday’s flight after they did not reach space during Blue Origin’s failed mission last year. Among these payloads was an experiment demonstrating hydrogen fuel cell technology in microgravity and a study on the strength of planetary soil under different gravity conditions.
Rocket Return and Future Plans
The rocket successfully returned to Earth and landed precisely near the launch pad, while the Blue Origin capsule descended to the ground using three parachutes, completing the 10-minute ascent and descent flight.
Blue Origin has launched 24 missions using its reusable rocket, including six flights carrying people above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space at an altitude of 100 kilometers above Earth.
Phil Joyce, Vice President of Blue Origin for the New Shepard program, said, “We thank all of our customers who conducted important research today and the students who contributed postcards to enhance our future of living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. Demand for New Shepard flights continues to grow, and we look forward to increasing our flight frequency in 2024.” Blue Origin will be flying people again “soon.”
Return of Crewed Flights
It took 15 months for Blue Origin to return to flights with the New Shepard rocket, but the successful launch on Tuesday puts the company on track to resume crewed flights. Most of Blue Origin’s customers for these short space flights have been wealthy individuals or special guests invited to ride into space. Notable Blue Origin passengers have included Jeff Bezos and actress and pilot William Shatner, who were excited to experience spaceflight. New Shepard passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth.
Future of Blue Origin
Blue Origin has not revealed the ticket price, but it is reported that seats on last year’s New Shepard flight were sold for $1.25 million. This is more than double the price of a seat on a short Virgin Galactic spaceflight.
So when will Blue Origin start flying people again? Erika Wagner, a long-time Blue Origin executive who participated in presenting the company’s broadcast of Tuesday’s flight, said, “After a thorough review of today’s mission, we look forward to flying our next crewed flight soon.” However, “soon” is a conveniently vague term. In March, when Blue Origin announced the results of its investigation into last year’s launch failure, the company stated that it would return to flights “soon” with New Shepard. Nine months later, New Shepard is finally flying again.
Improvements to the Rocket
Engineers investigating last year’s New Shepard incident concluded that the failure of the BE-3PM engine nozzle was the direct cause of the launch failure. The engine operated at higher-than-expected temperatures, causing thermal damage to the nozzle, a situation that Blue Origin disclosed earlier this year.
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Blue Origin’s corrective improvements to address the cause of the failure include changes to the engine combustion chamber design and adjustments to operational parameters. These changes were expected to reduce operating temperatures. Engineers also redesigned parts of the nozzle to help it better withstand thermal and dynamic loads.
Future of New Shepard
In September, the Federal Aviation Administration closed its investigation into the New Shepard launch failure, and Blue Origin aimed for an uncrewed flight return mission in early October. However, Ars previously reported that an additional two-month delay was caused by an issue with certifying a flight-certified engine part.
The extended suspension of the New Shepard rocket has sparked speculation about the future of the program, especially as Blue Origin prepares for the inaugural flight of the much larger New Glenn rocket. Last year’s launch failure left Blue Origin with only one New Shepard rocket in its inventory – the rocket that made its ninth flight to space on Tuesday.
Prior to Tuesday’s uncrewed flight, this rocket had been exclusively used for crewed missions. Blue Origin did not confirm whether it has another New Shepard rocket in production for crewed flights.
However, statements from Blue Origin officials on Tuesday suggest that New Shepard has a future. Wagner stated that Blue Origin aims to open New Shepard flights to researchers on future missions, allowing scientists to work directly with their experiments in microgravity.
The story was updated on December 20, 2023, to correct a reference to the previous flights of this rocket.
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