{"id":11915,"date":"2021-01-14T18:43:55","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T10:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/blue-origin-tests-passenger-accommodations-on-suborbital-launch\/"},"modified":"2021-01-14T18:43:55","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T10:43:55","slug":"blue-origin-tests-passenger-accommodations-on-suborbital-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/blue-origin-tests-passenger-accommodations-on-suborbital-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Origin tests passenger accommodations on suborbital launch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:&nbsp;<\/strong>Updated after launch.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_49614\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-49614\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-49614\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ns14_liftoff1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ns14_liftoff1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ns14_liftoff1-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ns14_liftoff1-768x427.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ns14_liftoff1-678x377.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-49614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard rocket lifts off from West Texas on Thursday. Credit: Blue Origin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Blue Origin says it is \u201cvery, very close\u201d to flying humans on suborbital launches to the edge of space after a successful test flight of a human-capable rocket and capsule Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>The company\u2019s New Shepard rocket and crew capsule took off at 12:17 p.m. EST (11:17 a.m. CST; 1717 GMT) Thursday from Blue Origin\u2019s private launch site north of Van Horn, Texas, east of El Paso.<\/p>\n<p>The launch was delayed 20 minutes as officials monitored mid-level winds over the test site. Blue Origin streamed the launch live on YouTube.<\/p>\n<p>Powered by a hydrogen-fueled BE-3 engine, the single-stage New Shepard booster soared through the atmosphere to reach an apogee, or maximum altitude, of 350,827 feet, or 106.9 kilometers. That\u2019s above the internationally-recognized boundary of space.<\/p>\n<p>The capsule separated from the rocket after engine shutdown, then began their descents back to Earth.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1349775311102210048&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2021%2F01%2F14%2Fblue-origin-new-shepard-ns-14%2F&amp;sessionId=708fffdecd139f27144592b8ba9e0cf64d7710d4&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1349775311102210048\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782469470504841027=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Blue Origin shared some spectacular replays of the single-stage New Shepard rocket launching from West Texas this morning on a suborbital test flight. https:\/\/t.co\/QlbRYskyqa pic.twitter.com\/O9s52DkRlq<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) January 14, 2021<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The reusable New Shepard rocket deployed air brakes and reignited its engine for a vertical landing back at Blue Origin\u2019s commercial spaceport about seven minutes after liftoff. The autonomous rocket self-corrected its path toward its target in the final seconds, and the booster ended up just off the center of the landing pad.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the capsule unfurled parachutes and briefly fired its own braking rockets to cushion its touchdown on the desert landscape nearby.<\/p>\n<p>The entire mission lasted around 10 minutes, 15 seconds, from liftoff until landing of the capsule, according to quick-look post-flight statistics provided by Blue Origin.<\/p>\n<p>It was the 14th flight of a suborbital New Shepard rocket and capsule since 2015, but the test mission Thursday debuted a new spacecraft and rocket with the&nbsp;accoutrements&nbsp;needed to carry people.<\/p>\n<p>The new capsule is named \u201cRSS First Step,\u201d with RSS standing for Reusable Spaceship. The rocket is Tail No. 4 in Blue Origin\u2019s fleet.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin has not said when it will begin flying people to space on the New Shepard system, but the vehicle flown Thursday is the same one that will ultimately launch and land with passengers, according to&nbsp;Patrick Zeitouni, head of Blue Origin\u2019s advanced development programs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is very exciting as we now have two vehicles in operation, one of which is going to be dedicated to payload flights, and that one has flown 7 consecutive successful missions,\u201d Zeitouni said shortly before Thursday\u2019s launch. \u201cAnd now we have this new vehicle today that\u2019s going to be taking its first flight, and this one will be used for astronaut missions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re getting very, very close to flying our first astronauts, so that\u2019s why it\u2019s critical that we test these systems,\u201d said Ariane Cornell, director of astronaut and orbital sales at Blue Origin, and co-host of the company\u2019s launch webcast Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin officials said during a webcast of the company\u2019s previous launch Oct. 13 that teams needed \u201cjust a couple more\u201d test flights before clearing the New Shepard for human passengers. A source said the company has a goal of conducting its first human flight in 2021, pending good results from Thursday\u2019s flight and subsequent launches.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1349770359629864963&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2021%2F01%2F14%2Fblue-origin-new-shepard-ns-14%2F&amp;sessionId=708fffdecd139f27144592b8ba9e0cf64d7710d4&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1349770359629864963\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782469470504841027=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Blue Origin\u2019s reusable New Shepard booster has landed back at its home base in West Texas after a suborbital flight to space. https:\/\/t.co\/QlbRYskyqa pic.twitter.com\/7GCTPKlCPu<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) January 14, 2021<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor this mission, the&nbsp;crew&nbsp;capsule will be outfitted with upgrades&nbsp;for the&nbsp;astronaut experience as the program nears human space flight,\u201d Blue Origin said in a statement before the test flight. \u201cThe upgrades include improvements to environmental features such as acoustics and temperature regulation inside the capsule, crew display panels, and speakers with a microphone and push-to-talk button at each seat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The push-to-talk button will allow passengers to speak with mission control during a flight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re flying the crew alert system, its a panel at each seat with lights and sounds that give the astronauts alerts and important safety messages,\u201d Cornell said.<\/p>\n<p>A lining on the inner wall of the capsule will help passengers more comfortably float around inside the spacecraft without bumping into any hard surfaces. It also is designed to suppress engine noise inside the cabin, according to Cornell.<\/p>\n<p>She said the environmental systems inside \u201cRSS First Step\u201d capsule include cooling and humidity control loops to regulate temperatures and prevent the craft\u2019s windows from fogging in flight. There\u2019s also a carbon dioxide scrubber on-board, Cornell said.<\/p>\n<p>There were six seats inside the capsule for Thursday\u2019s test flight, including one occupied by&nbsp;Mannequin Skywalker, Blue Origin\u2019s flight suit-clad test dummy that has flown on past launches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we get closer to flying humans, we, of course, have been building a history of successful missions proving out the safety of the New Shepard vehicle,\u201d Cornell said Thursday. \u201cNow that we\u2019re even closer, we\u2019re testing our features geared toward the experience for the astronauts inside the capsule.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin also flew more than 50,000 postcards from students around the world, submitted to launch into space through Blue Origin\u2019s nonprofit Club for the Future. The postcards, some of which flew in Mannequin Skywalker\u2019s pockets, will be returned to the students after flying in space.<\/p>\n<p>Founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin is in the final phase of testing the suborbital New Shepard booster and capsule before permitting people to ride the rocket into space.<\/p>\n<p>Paying space tourists and commercial and government researchers could be passengers on future New Shepard flights, which will give customers about three-to-four minutes of microgravity as the capsule reaches apogee, or the highest point of its ballistic arc. Past New Shepard test missions have flown experiments for NASA and universities.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1349771733977493506&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2021%2F01%2F14%2Fblue-origin-new-shepard-ns-14%2F&amp;sessionId=708fffdecd139f27144592b8ba9e0cf64d7710d4&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1349771733977493506\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782469470504841027=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">And Blue Origin\u2019s crew capsule \u2014 outfitted with seats, communication systems, life support &amp; other passenger accommodations \u2014 has successfully landed in the desert of West Texas.<\/p>\n<p>This completes the first flight of the capsule plans to use to fly people. https:\/\/t.co\/QlbRYskyqa pic.twitter.com\/sx4K2kc5kv<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) January 14, 2021<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin is leading a team of companies developing a human-rated lunar lander for NASA\u2019s Artemis program, alongside aerospace contractors Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper. Industrial teams led by Dynetics and SpaceX are also vying for a NASA contract to build the human-rated Moon lander.<\/p>\n<p>The company is also developing a huge orbital-class rocket named New Glenn, which will launch large satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:&nbsp;Updated after launch. Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard rocket lifts off from West Texas on Thursday. Credit: Blue Origin Blue Origin says it is \u201cvery, very close\u201d to flying humans on suborbital launches to the edge of space after a successful test flight of a human-capable rocket and capsule Thursday. The company\u2019s New Shepard rocket [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1678,509,291,1545,1046,25,1250,1925],"class_list":["post-11915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-be-3","tag-blue-origin","tag-commercial-space","tag-human-spaceflight","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-launch","tag-new-shepard","tag-ns-14"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11915"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}