{"id":19567,"date":"2015-11-13T22:56:06","date_gmt":"2015-11-13T14:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-targets-2016-for-suborbital-research-flights-with-drone-spaceships\/"},"modified":"2015-11-13T22:56:06","modified_gmt":"2015-11-13T14:56:06","slug":"jeff-bezos-blue-origin-targets-2016-for-suborbital-research-flights-with-drone-spaceships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-targets-2016-for-suborbital-research-flights-with-drone-spaceships\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin targets 2016 for suborbital research flights with drone spaceships"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"blueorigin_launch\"
Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital spaceship rises from its West Texas launch pad in April for a test flight. (Blue Origin photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blue Origin, the space venture backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is reportedly planning to start flying research payloads on its New Shepard suborbital space vehicle as early as the first half of 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re aiming for the second quarter of next year,\u201d Space News quoted Erika Wagner, business development manager for Blue Origin, as saying on Tuesday at a workshop in Washington, D.C. The workshop on microgravity research was organized by NanoRacks, a Houston-based company that\u2019s partnering with Blue Origin to fly scientific experiments on New Shepard.<\/p>\n

\"pluto\"
\nScience journalist Alan Boyle<\/strong> is the author of “The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made A Big Difference.”<\/p>\n

Blue Origin, which is headquartered in Kent, Wash., has been putting New Shepard through a series of uncrewed flight tests at the company\u2019s West Texas launch facility. The most recent test took place in April. The rocket-powered vehicle rose to a height of 307,000 feet \u2013 and although the propulsion module couldn\u2019t be recovered as hoped, due to a hydraulic problem, the crew capsule made a flawless parachute landing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny astronauts on board would have had a very nice journey into space and a smooth return,\u201d Bezos said at the time.<\/p>\n

Blue Origin says the next test flight could take place by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Like the test flights, the research flights would be launched without a crew. Instead, standard-size payload lockers would be loaded aboard New Shepard, sent up on a flight rising above 100 kilometers (62 miles) that would involve about three minutes of weightlessness, and then be recovered after landing.<\/p>\n

Blue Origin and NanoRacks are offering two locker sizes, roughly corresponding to the capacity of a 13-gallon kitchen wastebasket (49 liters) and a 30-gallon trash can (102 liters). The companies are offering a $5,300 package for student experiments that would fit in what\u2019s known as a 2U CubeSat compartment, measuring 4 by 4 by 8 inches (10 by 10 by 20 centimeters).<\/p>\n