Onboard the NS-25 (l-r) were Gopi Thotakura, Carol Schaller, Ed Dwight, Sylvain Chiron, Mason Angel, and Ken Hess. Image credit:Blue Origin
On May 20, 2024, six tourists had the pleasure of being launched to the edge ofspacein aBlue Originrocket—the New Shepard. The NS-25 flight mission wasthe first tourist space launchsince the failed test flight almost two years ago which was, thankfully, uncrewed.
Traveling at 2,000 MPH (three times the speed of sound), the rocket transported the capsule 62 miles above the Earth’s surface, where the passengers got to enjoy beautiful and unforgettable Earth views and a few minutes of weightlessness.
NS-25 Blue Origin New Shepard Rocket Launch
Departing from Blue Origin’s facilities in West Texas at 9:36 a.m. CT, the NS-25 launch mission was the company’s 7th crewed flight. The capsule made a safe landing, and a few minutes later, the rocket booster followed suit.
Six lucky passengers were in the capsule: Mason Angel (venture capitalist), Sylvain Chiron (Brasserie Mont-Blanc founder), Kenneth L. Hess (entrepreneur/software engineer), Ed Dwight (retired US Air Force captain), Carol Schaller (retired accountant), and Gopi Thotakura (aviator).
Failed 2022 Launch
Despite making 22 successful launches (six of which had people onboard—a total of 31 passengers, including the likes of Jeff Bezoz, William Shatner, and Michael Strahan), in September of 2022, Blue Origin attempted to launch a New Shepard rocket along with a capsule containing science instruments to space.
However, just one minute into the flight, there was a huge burst of flames that caused the capsule to go into launch abort mode. The company stated that this was due to the stress caused by the rocket traveling at high speeds through the still-thick atmosphere, which was ultimately the fault of anengine nozzle failure.
The Capsule’s Safe Landing
Although the rocket crashed back down to earth, the capsule impressively parachuted to safety. Jeff Bezos stated that, since safety is the most important part of a space mission carrying passengers, the fact that the capsule worked as intended by releasing itself from the faulty rocket and landing unharmed is reassuring.
Bezos said that the escape system is the hardest part of engineering, but the company has proved that it’s as safe and reliable as possible. Thankfully, there were no injuries, but the rocket, which was left without a working engine, was totally destroyed.
New Shepard Rocket Repairs
After an FAAinvestigationthat showed the engine nozzle failure was caused by higher temperatures than Blue Origin had anticipated, the company made design changes to the nozzle and combustion chamber, as well as adjustments to the operating parameters.
In September 2023, the FAA gave Blue Origin a list of corrections needed before the rocket would be safe for launch again (these have never been publicly released). Blue Origin swiftly carried out these corrections, and the New Shepard was ready to go again. Before the NS-25, it completed a successful uncrewed mission in December 2023.
