Blue Origin’s 11th New Shepard mission (NS-11) successfully launched from the company’s West Texas launch site on May 2, 2019.
The reusable rocket lifted off at 8:32 am CDT (only two minutes behind schedule) and carried 38 payloads into space (a record for New Shepard).
The launch was the rocket’s fifth successful trip to space, so it does have some noticeable wear and tear. During the broadcast, Ariane Cornwell, Blue Origin director of astronaut and orbital sales, said the New Shepard has "a couple of scuff marks on her, but that is what a reused rocket looks like.”
The total flight time was 10 minutes, 11 seconds, during which the rocket topped out at 2,217 mph and peaked at around 3 g.
The RSS H.G. Wells capsule atop the rocket reached 66 miles high (106 km, 346,406 ft) up over the Karman Line (100 km) where it experienced a few minutes of zero-g freedom before returning to Earth.
The capsule is a bid to capture a part of the developing space tourism market. The craft can hold up to six people, offering a brief (3-4 minute) zero-g experience and rare glimpse at the "blue marble.”
The test proved to be a successful step closer to flying humans onboard New Shepard. According to Cornwell, the company plans to fly humans in a test flight by the end of the year.
The payloads aboard the 11th mission included projects from various private companies, government agencies, universities, and schools.
Orbital Medicine tested an experimental medical treatment for a collapsed lung in zero gravity. The company has previously flown tests on the New Shepard, and this mission could help create a near-final version that may one day save lives in space.
Another project comes from a group of students from New Century Technology High School in Huntsville, Alabama; the students designed an experiment to test temperature fluctuations in microgravity.
Also along for the ride is the MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative, which flew two projects that use zero gravity to create art as well as several scientific payloads.
Blue Origin hasn’t flown since the company’s 10th test flight, which had eight onboard experiments when it launched in late January.
Toward the end of the broadcast, Cornwell succinctly summed up the day in West Texas, "There is nothing like a workday when you get to launch and land rockets.”
