{"id":17258,"date":"2023-09-28T01:57:51","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T17:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/faa-closes-investigation-into-blue-origins-launch-mishap-flights-could-resume-soon\/"},"modified":"2023-09-28T01:57:51","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T17:57:51","slug":"faa-closes-investigation-into-blue-origins-launch-mishap-flights-could-resume-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/faa-closes-investigation-into-blue-origins-launch-mishap-flights-could-resume-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"FAA closes investigation into Blue Origin\u2019s launch mishap; flights could resume \u2018soon\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"386\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230927-newshepard-630x386.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-792161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230927-newshepard-630x386.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230927-newshepard-1260x772.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230927-newshepard-768x471.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230927-newshepard-1536x941.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230927-newshepard.jpg 1607w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard rocket ship sits on its pad in advance of its launch in September 2022. (Blue Origin via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Federal Aviation Administration says that it\u2019s closed its investigation of last year\u2019s mishap involving Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital rocket ship, but that Jeff Bezos\u2019 space venture isn\u2019t yet cleared to resume flights.<\/p>\n<p>New Shepard\u2019s engine anomaly occurred during an uncrewed research flight on Sept. 12, 2022, and led to the suspension of further flights. The booster\u2019s misfire marked a rare setback for the New Shepard program, which had conducted more than 20 successful launches at Blue Origin\u2019s Launch Site One in West Texas \u2014 including six missions that provided suborbital space trips to a total of 31 people.<\/p>\n<p>During last year\u2019s aborted mission, Blue Origin\u2019s launch escape system worked as planned, blasting the capsule away from the booster for a parachute-assisted landing while the booster fell onto the Texas spaceport\u2019s open terrain. The company said that if people had been in the capsule, they would have survived. No one was injured on the ground.<\/p>\n<p>This March, Blue Origin reported that the booster\u2019s BE-3 rocket engine malfunctioned when its nozzle suffered a structural failure, due to engine operating temperatures that were higher than expected. The FAA said its final report reflects that conclusion.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"New Shepard launch anomaly (NS-23)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F6oTSgv4d_Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The FAA also said Blue Origin was required to take 21 corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence of the mishap. Those measures included a redesign of the engine and nozzle components to improve structural performance during operation, plus organizational changes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of New Shepard launches,\u201d the FAA said today in a news release.&nbsp;\u201cBlue Origin must implement all corrective actions that impact public safety and receive a license modification from the FAA that addresses all safety and other applicable regulatory requirements prior to the next New Shepard launch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Back in March, Blue Origin said that it had already begun implementing corrective actions. \u201cWe\u2019ve received the FAA\u2019s letter and plan to fly soon,\u201d the company said today in a posting to X \/ Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>The next New Shepard flight is expected to be an uncrewed mission, potentially with research payloads aboard. Jeff Bezos\u2019 fianc\u00e9e, Lauren Sanchez, has said that she\u2019s planning to participate in an all-female suborbital space mission once New Shepard is cleared to carry people again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard rocket ship sits on its pad in advance of its launch in September 2022. (Blue Origin via YouTube) The Federal Aviation Administration says that it\u2019s closed its investigation of last year\u2019s mishap involving Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital rocket ship, but that Jeff Bezos\u2019 space venture isn\u2019t yet cleared to resume [&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":[509,318,1250,4402],"class_list":["post-17258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-blue-origin","tag-faa","tag-new-shepard","tag-suborbital-spaceflight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17258"}],"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=17258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17258\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}