Blue Origin’s newest new Shepard flight is a hit as passengers climb on board (and disembark earlier than it flies).

By On Apr 22, 2021

In 2000, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin, a commercial space company that would become one of the crown jewels of its financial empire. Unfortunately, Blue Origin has lost ground in recent years to companies like SpaceX, who have set new standards with the development of reusable launch systems, replenishment services, and human-rated spacecraft.

To fix this, Bezos recently stepped down as CEO of Amazon to pay more attention to Blue Origin and other projects. On Wednesday April 14, the company reached a milestone when its New Shepard spaceship (named after famous astronaut Alan Shepard) completed its fifteenth consecutive NS-15 mission to space and back. This “crew rehearsal” mission brings Blue Origin one step closer to launching crews and tourists into space.

The mission took place at Launch Site One, a facility near Van Horn, Texas. Prior to launch, two Blue Origin employees performed sample operations to simulate astronaut movements and operations aboard the New Shepard capsule. This consisted of the two employees climbing the launch tower, buckling themselves into their seats, and performing communication controls with the Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM).

At the same time, two additional employees acted as the tower operations team and went through their own pre-launch operations. This consisted of preparing the capsule cabin for launch and securing the capsule door behind the two astronaut deputies once they were inside. After all pre-launch preparations and controls were completed, the astronauts exited the capsule and sealed it.

During the flight, which began at 10:15 am CDT (8:15 am EDT; 11:15 am PDT), the capsule was “occupied” by Mannequin Skywalker (the company’s test dummy) and carried over 25,000 Blue Origin nonprofit postcards Group club for the future. After the capsule landed, the two astronauts practiced post-flight procedures such as opening the hatch and exiting the capsule.

During the flight, the capsule reached a height of 106 km and was thus just above the Kármán line – the official boundary between the earth’s atmosphere and “space”. About seven minutes after takeoff, the reusable first stage booster made a powerful descent and landed upright on the landing pad. Three minutes later, the capsule landed gently with fancy parachutes.

The SN-15 capsule lands with deployed parachutes. Photo credit: Blue Origin

After touchdown, the replacement astronauts went back to the capsule and got on board to practice crew recovery. The entire flight was the subject of a live webcast that began 60 minutes before take-off (see below). “Although there are no astronauts on board today, it was a critical step on our path to the first human flight,” said flight commentator Ariane Cornell of the company’s headquarters in Kent, Washington.

The mission lasted a total of 10 minutes and 10 seconds and reached a top speed of 3,596 km / h. Not only was it the fifteenth time the New Shepard went into space, it was the sixteenth consecutive time the capsule successfully landed, including a pad escape test in 2012. It is also likely Mannequin’s last space flight Skywalker donated to the US Space and Rocket Center.

By testing the crewing procedures, they have come one step closer to clearing the New Shepard for crewed flights. This also includes flying paying customers for short jumps into space. During these flights, six crew members will experience three minutes of weightlessness and enjoy breathtaking views of the earth from orbit. Overall, the mission was in line with the incremental approach Bezos had in mind when launching Blue Origin.

Blue Origin’s Audrey Powers simulates the intrusion of astronauts into the New Shepard Mission NS-15. Photo credit: Blue Origin

In the meantime, the company is making progress on its New Glenn heavy-duty launch system. Like the New Shepard, this two-stage vehicle is named after a pioneering astronaut and member of the “Mercury Seven” – John Glenn. While Shepard was the first American astronaut to go into space and reach a suborbital altitude of 187 km, Glenn was the first American astronaut to orbit the earth.

Recent milestones in the development of the New Glenn include the completion of its model simulator for the first stage, a structural test facility and the development of hardware elements (tanks, stage modules and composite siding). The New Glenn’s maiden flight is currently scheduled for late 2022 and will take place in Cape Canaveral’s historic Launch Complex 36 (LC-36), which is in the final stages of reconstruction.

The company’s slogan, Gradatim Ferociter (Latin), literally means “step by step, wild”. In this regard, the NS-15 mission and other recent developments are further steps towards fulfilling the dream of space tourism and commercial launches – the very dream the company was founded on. In the meantime, check out the full coverage of the launch of SN-15, Courtest of Blue Origin:

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