{"id":18070,"date":"2019-05-02T23:43:16","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T15:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/blue-origin-sends-dozens-of-payloads-to-space-and-looks-ahead-to-sending-people\/"},"modified":"2019-05-02T23:43:16","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T15:43:16","slug":"blue-origin-sends-dozens-of-payloads-to-space-and-looks-ahead-to-sending-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/blue-origin-sends-dozens-of-payloads-to-space-and-looks-ahead-to-sending-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Origin sends dozens of payloads to space \u2014 and looks ahead to sending people"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_495901\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-495901\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-495901\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-liftoff-630x510.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Origin New Shepard liftoff\" width=\"630\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-liftoff-630x510.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-liftoff-768x621.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-liftoff-1260x1019.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-liftoff.jpg 1313w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-495901\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An overhead view shows Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital spaceship lifting off in West Texas. (Blue Origin via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, today sent dozens of science experiments and other payloads to space and back on its suborbital New Shepard rocket ship.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s liftoff marked the 11th uncrewed test mission in the New Shepard program, and the fifth go-round for this particular reusable booster and its capsule.<\/p>\n<p>The main mission was to check out the launch system in preparation for flying people later this year, but Blue Origin said it flew 38 commercial payloads in the crew capsule \u2014 including a 3-D printer and a scientific centrifuge designed for use in zero-gravity.<\/p>\n<p>Liftoff took place at Blue Origin\u2019s testing and launch facility in West Texas at 8:32 a.m. CT (6:32 a.m. PT) after only minor delays. \u201cLook at her go!\u201d launch commentator Ariane Cornell exclaimed as the New Shepard booster\u2019s hydrogen-fueled BE-3 rocket engine blasted the craft into clear skies.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1124115283554078720&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2019%2Fblue-origin-sends-dozens-payloads-space-back-looks-forward-sending-people%2F&amp;sessionId=bc456598fdf8ad7d75c3c1a15e827c38b443a728&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1124115283554078720\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782801484476128777=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Congrats to the whole @blueorigin team! https:\/\/t.co\/71S53Ucl5l<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) May 3, 2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Toward the top of the ride, the capsule separated from the booster and coasted upward to a peak altitude of 346,406 feet. That\u2019s 65.6 miles, or 105.6 kilometers \u2014 well above the 100-kilometer Karman Line that\u2019s internationally accepted as the edge of space, but well below the 119-kilometer mark that the same New Shepard craft reached last July. The maximum ascent velocity was a supersonic 2,217 mph, or 3,567 kilometers per hour.<\/p>\n<p>The crew capsule and its contents experienced a few minutes of weightlessness at the maximum altitude, leading Cornell to muse over what passengers might feel. \u201cIf only we were in there, guys,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Within minutes, the booster relit its engine to make a controlled touchdown on its landing pad, while the capsule floated down to a separate touchdown on the end of a parachute. Mission elapsed time was 10 minutes and 11 seconds, Blue Origin said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_495884\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-495884\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-495884\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-touchdown-630x475.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Origin booster landing\" width=\"630\" height=\"475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-touchdown-630x475.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-touchdown-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-touchdown-1260x949.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/190502-touchdown.jpg 1329w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-495884\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard booster touches down on its West Texas landing pad at the end of a successful flight. (Blue Origin via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Today\u2019s flight came three and a half months after Blue Origin\u2019s previous New Shepard flight. If that tempo continues, and if Blue Origin truly intends to begin crewed flights by the end of the year, there can\u2019t be many more uncrewed practice runs left on the test schedule.<\/p>\n<p>The first people to climb on board are likely to be Blue Origin employees \u2014 perhaps former NASA astronauts such as Jeff Ashby or Nicholas Patrick. Paying passengers would follow, but Blue Origin has yet to say how much a ticket will cost.<\/p>\n<p>New Shepard hardware is produced at Blue Origin\u2019s headquarters in Kent, Wash., and shipped down to Texas for flight. Cornell said people wouldn\u2019t ride in the New Shepard capsule that was tested today, but in an upgraded capsule that\u2019s currently sitting in Blue Origin\u2019s \u201cbarn\u201d in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause it\u2019s such a special capsule to us, we actually decided to name the newest capsule that\u2019s just in the barn the \u2018RSS First Step,\u2019 \u201d Cornell said. \u201d \u2018RSS\u2019? Reusable Spaceship, of course. And \u2018First Step\u2019 because it is our first capsule that is going to be taking people. It\u2019s going to enable our vision of millions of people living and working in space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the New Shepard suborbital space program, Blue Origin is working on an orbital-class rocket called New Glenn, a new breed of rocket engine called the BE-4, and a lunar lander called Blue Moon. New Glenn and the BE-4 are due to make their space debut in 2021, and Blue Moon could make its first delivery to the moon in the early 2020s.<\/p>\n<p>Cornell said Blue Origin\u2019s workforce has reached the 2,000-employee mark and is on track to hit 2,600 by the end of the year, with most of those workers in Kent. Way back in 2016, Bezos said the company was \u201cbusting out of the seams\u201d with 600 employees. Good thing an expanded headquarters is under construction.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Replay of NS-11 Webcast\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T84qFp4_3ns?start=440&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Update for 3:50 p.m. PT May 2:<\/strong> We\u2019ve tweaked the stats from today\u2019s mission to reflect Blue Origin\u2019s official figures.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An overhead view shows Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital spaceship lifting off in West Texas. (Blue Origin via YouTube) Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, today sent dozens of science experiments and other payloads to space and back on its suborbital New Shepard rocket ship. Today\u2019s liftoff marked the 11th [&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":[509,291,1046,1250],"class_list":["post-18070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-blue-origin","tag-commercial-space","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-new-shepard"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18070"}],"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=18070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18070\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}