{"id":18702,"date":"2017-12-15T21:32:23","date_gmt":"2017-12-15T13:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/get-a-dummys-eye-view-of-a-suborbital-ride-on-jeff-bezos-blue-origin-spaceship\/"},"modified":"2017-12-15T21:32:23","modified_gmt":"2017-12-15T13:32:23","slug":"get-a-dummys-eye-view-of-a-suborbital-ride-on-jeff-bezos-blue-origin-spaceship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/get-a-dummys-eye-view-of-a-suborbital-ride-on-jeff-bezos-blue-origin-spaceship\/","title":{"rendered":"Get a dummy\u2019s-eye view of a suborbital ride on Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin spaceship"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_383698\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-383698\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-383698\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Blue-Origin-New-Shepard-Mission-7-Crew-Capsule-2.0-Landing-2-630x420.jpg\" alt=\"Test dummy in crew capsule\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Blue-Origin-New-Shepard-Mission-7-Crew-Capsule-2.0-Landing-2-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Blue-Origin-New-Shepard-Mission-7-Crew-Capsule-2.0-Landing-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Blue-Origin-New-Shepard-Mission-7-Crew-Capsule-2.0-Landing-2-1260x840.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-383698\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An instrumented test dummy, nicknamed \u201cMannequin Skywalker,\u201d sits next to one of the huge windows in the New Shepard crew capsule. (Blue Origin Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What will people experience when they rocket to the edge of space on the New Shepard suborbital spaceship that\u2019s currently being tested by Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin&nbsp;venture?<\/p>\n<p>An 11-minute video, recorded inside the crew capsule during this week\u2019s test flight in West Texas, gives you a pretty good idea.<\/p>\n<p>You can even watch the flight\u2019s effect on a test subject&nbsp;\u2014 in this case, an instrumented crash-test dummy nicknamed \u201cMannequin Skywalker.\u201d (For those who have been on another planet for the past 20 years, that name\u2019s a tribute to Anakin Skywalker, a central character in the \u201cStar Wars\u201d saga.)<\/p>\n<p>One of the big takeaways is that there\u2019s no crash: At the end of the ride, the capsule drifts down to the ground and lands with what looks like a relatively gentle floof.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Mannequin Skywalker\u2019s ride to space onboard Crew Capsule 2.0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6ZJghIk7_VA?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>On the way up, watch for the sky to turn from its typical light blue to near-black, with the curving Earth below. You can see just how much of a view you\u2019ll get through windows that measure 3.6 feet high and 2.4 feet wide.<\/p>\n<p>Another thing to watch for is the period of weightlessness at the top of the ride, when you can see light-colored flecks floating in the air. In a tweet, Bezos noted that human passengers won\u2019t have the same experience that Mannequin Skywalker had.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnlike him, you\u2019ll be able to get out of your seat during the zero gee part of the flight,\u201d Bezos said. \u201cAnd ignore the pinging sound \u2013 it\u2019s just from one of the experiments on this flight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Twelve experiments flew aboard New Shepard this time around, and Blue Origin shared details about six of the payloads:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An Orbital Medicine experiment&nbsp;tested a device that could assist in treating chest trauma and its effects (such as a collapsed lung) if suffered in the space environment. Orbital Medicine won funding for the flight through NASA\u2019s Flight Opportunities program.<\/li>\n<li>Purdue University and Cumberland Elementary School in Indiana had their \u201cZero-Gravity Glow Experiment\u201d aboard. During the zero-G phase of the flight, ZGGE mixed chemicals that create bioluminescence in fireflies, and recorded the resulting glow with a miniature camera. The results will answer a question posed by Cumberland\u2019s second-graders: Would fireflies glow in space?<\/li>\n<li>DCS Montessori Middle School in Colorado provided a two-part payload: an Arduino Nano electronics board with a sensor package, and a school-wide art project.<\/li>\n<li>Embry Riddle Aeronautical University contributed two experiments. One was aimed at investigating how zero-G impacts the cellular processes of the immune system\u2019s T-cells; the other looked at zero-G\u2019s effect on genes that play a role in tumor growth.<\/li>\n<li>Johns Hopkins University\u2019s JANUS Research Platform monitored vibrational, microgravity and thermal conditions aboard the crew capsule during the flight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This week\u2019s flight was the first conducted under a license from the Federal Aviation Administration that allowed Blue Origin to charge for payloads. The introductory price for flying a student payload like ZGGE is $5,300, but the price tag can reportedly range as high as $100,000.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin hasn\u2019t yet set the ticket price for flying actual people rather than dummies, and it\u2019s not yet taking reservations. But Bezos has said test astronauts could start filling New Shepard\u2019s seats next year, with paying customers taking Mannequin Skywalker\u2019s place once the flight test program is finished.<\/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=941467037905272833&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2017%2Fdummy-blue-origin%2F&amp;sessionId=b108e949e31ff38795d687e05fc1cd075f1944df&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"941467037905272833\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782801732865740177=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">First use of our landing pad bot #Blue2D2. @blueorigin pic.twitter.com\/Ht2P7yVwEs<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) December 15, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Update for 6:25 p.m. PT Dec. 16:<\/strong> This report has been amended to provide a more accurate description of the arrangement for flying Orbital Medicine\u2019s experiment to test a thoracic drainage device.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An instrumented test dummy, nicknamed \u201cMannequin Skywalker,\u201d sits next to one of the huge windows in the New Shepard crew capsule. (Blue Origin Photo) What will people experience when they rocket to the edge of space on the New Shepard suborbital spaceship that\u2019s currently being tested by Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin&nbsp;venture? An 11-minute video, recorded [&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":[509,291,1046,1250,493,4402],"class_list":["post-18702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-blue-origin","tag-commercial-space","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-new-shepard","tag-space-tourism","tag-suborbital-spaceflight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18702"}],"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=18702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18702\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}