Insider Brief:
- Blue Origin‘s New Shepard rocket successfully launched passengers to the edge of space for the first time in nearly two years.
- This latest flight, NS-25, has ended a hiatus after a previous test flight failure.
- The rocket lifted off at 9:36 a.m. CT from Blue Origin’s facility in West Texas and is the company’s seventh crewed mission.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket successfully launched passengers to the edge of space for the first time in nearly two years, ending a hiatus resulting from a previous test flight failure. The rocket lifted off at 9:36 a.m. CT from Blue Origin’s facility in West Texas, marking the company’s seventh crewed mission.
The flight, known as NS-25, carried six passengers, including venture capitalist Mason Angel and Ed Dwight, a retired Air Force captain and former astronaut candidate. At 90 years old, Dwight became the oldest person to travel to the edge of space.
During the flight, the crew experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and breathtaking views of Earth from the capsule windows. The rocket exceeded speeds of 2,000 miles per hour, reaching an altitude of over 62 miles, the generally recognized boundary of outer space.
The successful mission follows an extensive investigation and redesign after a 2022 test flight failure. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found a faulty engine nozzle caused the previous mishap. Blue Origin implemented several design changes to address the issue, including modifications to the combustion chamber and nozzle.
