Yesterday, the space company Blue Origin, created by billionaire Jeff Bezos, successfully launched the New Shepard suborbital spacecraft. This was reported by UNN with reference to the company's press service.
Details
Blue Origin successfully completed the 24th flight of New Shepard and the 13th mission with a payload from Launch Pad 1 in West Texas
It is noted that during the flight, 33 payloads were delivered from NASA, academia, research institutes and commercial companies, bringing the number of payloads delivered to New Shepard to more than
The rocket was launched at 11:41 a.m. EDT (18:41 Kyiv time) from the Corn Ranch launch site near the town of Van Horn in western Texas.
There were no tourists on board the spacecraft. The rocket launch was scheduled for December 18, but was postponed for a day due to problems with the ground system.
Addendum
This is the first flight of New Shepard since the accident in September 2022. Back then, a technical problem occurred in the launch vehicle's operation, which resulted in premature undocking of the cargo capsule.
In the fall, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FFA) completed an investigation into the incident and ordered the company to make more than 20 improvements to the ship's design. In a statement, the agency said that the immediate cause of the accident was "structural failure of the engine nozzle caused by higher-than-expected operating temperatures."
Recall
Earlier, in May, Blue Origin signed a $3.4 billion contract with NASA to develop a lander for the Artemis mission to the Moon. The contract stipulates that Blue Origin will develop the lander that will deliver astronauts to the lunar surface and conduct tests.