Blue Origin launched a New Shepard suborbital vehicle Aug. 25 on a mission conveying research and educational payloads as the organization plans for its next ran flight.
New Shepard took off from the organization’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 10:31 a.m. Eastern. The launch was deferred by almost an hour in view of two holds during the countdown, first for an unspecified vehicle issue and afterward an almost half-hour hold for what the organization called a “payload readiness issue.”
The crew capsule arrived at a peak altitude of 105.9 kilometers prior to arriving under parachutes 10 minutes and 15 seconds after takeoff. The vehicle’s supporter made a powered landing on a close by pad a few minutes earlier.
The launch was scheduled Aug. 25 however deferred one day. “We are working to verify a fix on a payload integration issue and taking an extra look before we fly,” an organization representative said Aug. 23, the day Blue Origin reported the slip.
The mission carried 18 research payloads inside the capsule, 11 of which are supported by NASA through its Flight Opportunities program. An extra NASA analyze mounted on the vehicle’s exterior gathered information during the powered landing of the supporter to test a sensor and computer system intended for future lunar landers.
The vehicle additionally carried paintings by Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo on the parachute fronts of the capsule as part of an art project by Uplift Aerospace.
This flight was the first for New Shepard since its inaugural crewed flight July 20, additionally from Launch Site One. That launch, utilizing an alternate supporter and capsule from this mission, sent organization organizer Jeff Bezos, his sibling Mark, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen to an altitude of in excess of 100 kilometers prior to landing 10 minutes after takeoff.
Organization authorities said during the launch webcast that the next crewed flight of New Shepard will happen “soon,” however didn’t offer a more specific schedule. At the July 20 flight, the organization said it expected to perform two more ran flights this year. The organization has a backlog of almost $100 million however has not revealed the number of clients who have signed up for flights.
