Blue Origin Launches 17th New Shepard Mission

Blue Origin Successfully Launches New Shepard Rocket

Update: Following several postponements, Blue Origin achieved a successful launch of the New Shepard rocket at approximately 10:30 AM ET / 7:30 AM PT. The first stage landed around 10:38 AM, and the capsule followed at 10:40 AM.

Recent Flight History and Current Mission

Blue Origin’s previous launch marked a significant milestone – the first human flight, transporting Jeff Bezos, his brother, Wally Funk, and Oliver Daemen to suborbital space. This current flight utilizes New Shepard once more, though without passengers.

Instead, it carries a crucial payload from NASA, designed to evaluate technologies intended for the development of a human landing system for upcoming lunar missions.

NS-17 Launch Details

The NS-17 launch – signifying the 17th flight of Blue Origin’s completely reusable suborbital rocket – was scheduled for 9:35 AM EDT (6:35 AM PDT). The launch originated from the company’s facility located in West Texas.

The NASA payload is focused on testing key technologies. These include a Doppler lidar sensor array, which will provide future lunar landers with highly detailed information about potential landing sites. A Descent Landing Computer, responsible for processing sensor data, is also onboard.

Blue Origin previously tested components of this system in October of last year. Improvements derived from that initial test have been incorporated into this current iteration.

Additional Experiments

Beyond the NASA payload, the Blue Origin capsule is hosting a variety of other experiments. These originate from both NASA and various academic institutions, including the University of Florida.

Flight Profile

The launch sequence involves a vertical take-off, followed by the separation of the capsule. The booster will then execute a controlled, powered landing. Finally, the capsule will descend using parachutes after experiencing several minutes in suborbital space.

A livestream of the event was available, beginning approximately 30 minutes before the scheduled launch time.