Blue Origin, led by Jeff Bezos, set to return to space with Big Shepard rocket following previous mishap
Blue Origin, the American company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is set to launch its rocket, Big Shepard, on Monday, marking its return to space after a year-long hiatus following an accident. The launch is scheduled for 8:30 am local time (14H30 GMT) from the west Texas pad, and Blue Origin intends to live stream the event.
This mission, called NS-24, does not carry a crew, but rather equipment for scientific experiments, more than half of which Blue Origin developed in collaboration with NASA.
In an accident in September 2022, the rocket’s booster stage fell to the ground, although the capsule part of the spacecraft was safely dropped by parachutes. There was no crew on board.
The accident prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which concluded in September 2023 that the cause of the accident was higher-than-designed temperatures in the rocket engine.
The FAA urged Blue Origin to make changes to allow it to resume launches, specifically in the design of certain engine components.
The FAA confirmed on Sunday that it had approved Blue Origin’s application to fly again.
Blue Origin uses its rocket called New Shepard for space tourism flights from Texas.
It has now carried 31 people on short trips into space, including Bezos himself.
The spacecraft consists of a booster plane and a payload-carrying capsule at the top.
In the failed NS-23 mission, the capsule’s automatic ejection system activated, so it floated to Earth safely.
The rocket’s main stage was destroyed when it hit the ground instead of descending vertically in a controlled manner for reuse, as Blue Origin usually does.
Blue Origin competes in the space tourism market with Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson.
But Blue Origin is also developing a heavy rocket called New Glenn, which is scheduled for first flight next year.
Standing 98 meters (320 feet) tall, this craft is designed to carry a payload of up to 45 metric tons into low Earth orbit, while New Shepard travels at a much lower altitude.
