New Shepard spacecraft successfully launched and landed for the fourth time.
The ship's capsule landed without any problems, and in emergency mode,
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin Company successfully took off and landed the New Shepard ship. This is the fourth consecutive test that was quite successful. The company conducted the launch of the broadcast for the first time, and it was also done on a level. I note that the launch was carried out 21 minutes later than originally planned. The entire flight took only 11 minutes.
For Blue Origin, this is the first spacecraft that consists of one stage and a capsule where passengers and pilots will be placed. The ship is designed to perform suborbital flights to a height of 100 kilometers. Inside the capsule fit six people. According to the company, passengers can enjoy the state of weightlessness at the highest point of flight. True, the state of weightlessness lasts only four minutes, at the point where the capsule detaches from the rocket.
Four minutes later, the capsule and the ship begin to descend. The capsule goes down on three parachutes, and the rocket - on the only engine that starts again. This time the capsule landed in emergency mode - the company intentionally prevented one of the three parachutes from opening. This was done in order to test the capsule to work in various unforeseen situations. However, everything went as smoothly as in previous launches. In the last seconds of landing the capsule is turning on the engines of a soft landing. As a result, it seems that the capsule falls to the ground in clouds of dust. But this is not the case - the landing of the capsule is really soft, because people on landing should not only suffer, but also feel some discomfort. Otherwise, the space company founder of Amazon may simply not have customers.
The company will launch New Shepard in test mode next year. True, the company is already allowed to participate in the flight and people - pilots to repeat the test launches. If all goes well, in 2018 commercial flights with passengers will begin.
Unfortunately, so far nothing is known about the price of tickets. One can only assume that the cost of a flight on Blue Origin for one person is no more than $ 250,000. That is exactly what the ticket will cost on board another suborbital apparatus, which was created by Virgin Galactic. It is unlikely that Blue Origin will set a higher price than competitors.
The development of the spacecraft began in 2006. At the same time, she acquired a land plot of about 770 km² in the state of Texas to build a launch complex and other structures. The test flight of the first prototype took place in 2006.
A replay of the launch broadcast can be viewed here:
As mentioned above, in addition to Blue Origin, space planning also involves Richard Branson’s Virgin Galaxy company. She was able to obtain a license for "space tourism" from the US Federal Aviation Administration. Virgin Galacic has its own SpaceShipTwo spacecraft. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2014, this ship crashed, so the company had to postpone the tests. Perhaps the second copy of SpaceShipTwo will be tested this year. There is also the possibility that the Branson company will start carrying tourists into space next year.
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin Company successfully took off and landed the New Shepard ship. This is the fourth consecutive test that was quite successful. The company conducted the launch of the broadcast for the first time, and it was also done on a level. I note that the launch was carried out 21 minutes later than originally planned. The entire flight took only 11 minutes.
For Blue Origin, this is the first spacecraft that consists of one stage and a capsule where passengers and pilots will be placed. The ship is designed to perform suborbital flights to a height of 100 kilometers. Inside the capsule fit six people. According to the company, passengers can enjoy the state of weightlessness at the highest point of flight. True, the state of weightlessness lasts only four minutes, at the point where the capsule detaches from the rocket.
Four minutes later, the capsule and the ship begin to descend. The capsule goes down on three parachutes, and the rocket - on the only engine that starts again. This time the capsule landed in emergency mode - the company intentionally prevented one of the three parachutes from opening. This was done in order to test the capsule to work in various unforeseen situations. However, everything went as smoothly as in previous launches. In the last seconds of landing the capsule is turning on the engines of a soft landing. As a result, it seems that the capsule falls to the ground in clouds of dust. But this is not the case - the landing of the capsule is really soft, because people on landing should not only suffer, but also feel some discomfort. Otherwise, the space company founder of Amazon may simply not have customers.
The company will launch New Shepard in test mode next year. True, the company is already allowed to participate in the flight and people - pilots to repeat the test launches. If all goes well, in 2018 commercial flights with passengers will begin.
Unfortunately, so far nothing is known about the price of tickets. One can only assume that the cost of a flight on Blue Origin for one person is no more than $ 250,000. That is exactly what the ticket will cost on board another suborbital apparatus, which was created by Virgin Galactic. It is unlikely that Blue Origin will set a higher price than competitors.
The development of the spacecraft began in 2006. At the same time, she acquired a land plot of about 770 km² in the state of Texas to build a launch complex and other structures. The test flight of the first prototype took place in 2006.
A replay of the launch broadcast can be viewed here:
As mentioned above, in addition to Blue Origin, space planning also involves Richard Branson’s Virgin Galaxy company. She was able to obtain a license for "space tourism" from the US Federal Aviation Administration. Virgin Galacic has its own SpaceShipTwo spacecraft. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2014, this ship crashed, so the company had to postpone the tests. Perhaps the second copy of SpaceShipTwo will be tested this year. There is also the possibility that the Branson company will start carrying tourists into space next year.