Skip to main content

Blue Origin reaches a big milestone, lands rocket booster and crew capsule

Replay of Mission 9 Webcast

Blue Origin is inching ever closer to sending folks into space. With tickets slated to cost somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000, it’s safe to say that folks are getting antsy for their opportunity to blast off. Earlier this week, Jeff Bezos’ space endeavor completed its most important test yet in the form of a live separation of its crew capsule from its rocket booster. Everything went according to plan and because the crew set off its escape motor at just the right time, the capsule was sent further into space than ever before. With this most recent trial green light, the rocket company is closer than ever to its goal of becoming fully operational by the end of 2018.

Recommended Videos

The launch marked the ninth such occasion for Blue Origin and the third for the New Shepard rocket. Like SpaceX’s spacecraft and boosters, both of Blue Origin’s major components are meant to be reused. In total, the launch lasted around 150 seconds, after which the engine was shut off. The capsule then coasted the rest of its way into space, while the booster plummeted back to Earth, engaging its landing gear and rocket-powered brakes in order to safely land on the ground. The capsule makes use of its parachutes to safely land. The capsule ultimately floated for about nine minutes (the whole thing lasted 11 minutes), and reached a top speed of 2,236 mph and a top height of 389,846 feet above Earth’s surface.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The launch has clearly captured the public’s imagination, as more than 20,000 folks watched Blue Origin’s YouTube livestream to see the test. Perhaps some of the interest was spurred by the likelihood that these watchers may one day become passengers. During the test, Blue Origin engineers placed a mannequin inside the capsule to represent a human passenger.

“[The mannequin] probably peaked at 10 Gs,” Blue Origin’s Ariane Cornell said during the livestream. “But you know what? That is well within what humans can take, especially within such a short spurt of time and in those reclined seats. It’s just important that we bring the astronauts home safely.”

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
How to watch Blue Origin’s rocket return to flight
New Shepard lifts off from Launch Site One in West Texas for the NS-16 mission on July 20, 2021.

UPDATE: Blue Origin scrubbed Monday's launch attempt to deal with a ground system issue. It's now targeting Tuesday, December 19, with a launch window opening at 10:37 a.m. CT (11:37 a.m. ET/8:37 a.m. PT).

The rocket company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will launch its sub-orbital New Shepard vehicle for the first time in 15 months on Tuesday, and the whole event will be live-streamed.

Read more
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to make first rocket flight since 2022 explosion
New Shepard lifts off from Launch Site One in West Texas for the NS-16 mission on July 20, 2021.

New Shepard launches the first crew, including Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, in a flight to the edge of space in July 2021. Blue Origin / Blue Origin

Blue Origin is aiming to launch its New Shepard rocket as early as next week in what will be its first flight since September 2022, when the vehicle exploded in midair shortly after lift-off.

Read more
Blue Origin suffers setback as one of its rocket engines explodes during test
Blue Origin performing a ground-based test on a BE-4 engine.

Blue Origin performing an earlier ground-based test on a BE-4 engine. Blue Origin

A Blue Origin rocket engine exploded during a ground-based test last month in a setback for the spaceflight company owned by Jeff Bezos.

Read more