In a return to space tourism, Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket successfully launched passengers to the edge of space, marking the end of a nearly two-year hiatus following a failed uncrewed test flight.
The launch, known as NS-25, took place at 9:36 a.m. CT (8:06 pm IST Sunday) from Blue Origin's private ranch facilities in West Texas, reported CNN.
Blue Origin is the space tourism and exploration firm founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos. Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, New Shepard is Blue Origin's fully reusable, suborbital rocket system built for human flight
Onboard the capsule were six adventurous individuals: Mason Angel, a venture capitalist; Sylvain Chiron, founder of Brasserie Mont-Blanc; Kenneth L Hess, a software engineer and entrepreneur; Carol Schaller, a retired accountant; Gopi Thotakura, an aviator; and Ed Dwight, a retired US Air Force captain who was once selected by President John F Kennedy as the nation's first Black astronaut candidate.
Dwight, despite receiving training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School and earning an Air Force recommendation, did not make it into the NASA Astronaut Corps. At the age of 90, he achieved a lifelong dream by reaching the edge of space, becoming the oldest person to do so, according to a Blue Origin spokesperson.
"I thought I didn’t need it in my life," Dwight said of the experience on Blue Origin’s livestream after the capsule touched down at 9.46 a.m. CT (8:06 p.m. IST). "But I lied. I really, really did need it."
"It’s a life-changing experience," he said. "Everybody needs to do this."
During the mission, the crew travelled at over three times the speed of sound, exceeding 2,000 miles per hour.
The rocket propelled the capsule beyond the Kármán line, which is approximately 62 miles (100 kilometres) above Earth's surface and widely considered the boundary of outer space, although there is some ambiguity.
At the peak of the flight, passengers enjoyed several minutes of weightlessness. The launch comes after the triumph of an unmanned science mission in December, marking the New Shepard program's return to flight following an incident over a year ago.
On September 12, 2022, a New Shepard rocket and spacecraft were scheduled to launch science instruments. However, just one minute into the flight, the rocket experienced Max Q, a term in aerospace for maximum stress. At this point, the rocket emitted flames, prompting the capsule to trigger its launch abort system, propelling it away from the malfunctioning rocket for a safe landing with parachutes.
Blue Origin later disclosed that the failure was due to an issue with the engine nozzle, which directs the exhaust. The onboard computers detected the problem and shut down the engine. There were no injuries reported, and Blue Origin stated that both the science payloads and the capsule could be reused.
During an interview in December with podcaster Lex Fridman, Bezos said the escape system that jettisoned the capsule to safety is the most difficult piece of engineering in the entire rocket — but "it is the reason that I am comfortable letting anyone go on New Shepard."
"The (rocket) booster is as safe and reliable as we can make it," Bezos said.
"The power density is so enormous that it is impossible to ever be sure that nothing will go wrong. … So the only way to improve safety is to have an escape system.
"A tourism vehicle has to be designed in my view … to be as safe as one can make it," he said. "You can’t make it perfectly safe. It’s impossible."
The Federal Aviation Administration wrapped up its investigation of the incident on September 27, 2023, listing 21 "corrective actions" for Blue Origin to carry out before resuming flights. However, the specific details of these actions were not disclosed as the report contains sensitive data.
Despite the setback, Blue Origin's successful December flight paved the way for the company to resume its space tourism trips.
NS-25 astronauts during training at Launch Site One. Image Source: Blue Origin
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