Blue Origin sends rocket into space again
Blue Origin has made a successful return to the space business: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos' company is flying into space again for the first time since a failed launch more than a year ago. These are good omens. After all, a maiden flight with a heavy-lift rocket is planned for next year.
More than a year after a crash, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin has successfully sent a rocket into space again for the first time. A live broadcast showed how the New Shepard rocket lifted off from the private spaceport in the state of Texas at 10.43 a.m. local time.
After separating from the engine, the space capsule climbed to an altitude of 107 kilometers above sea level. The engine then landed on the launch pad as planned, followed a few minutes later by the capsule, which floated to the ground on three gigantic parachutes. "There it is, touchdown for NS-24," said a live commentator.
The successful launch marks Blue Origin's return to business. A New Shepard rocket crashed in September last year. According to an investigation report, the engine had previously overheated. Following corrective measures, Blue Origin was finally given permission to launch rockets again.
Blue Origin competes with Virgin Galactic
The company has already taken 31 people on short suborbital flights into space with the New Shepard rocket, including several well-paying space tourists and company founder Bezos himself. Blue Origin competes with Virgin Galactic, the space company owned by British billionaire Richard Branson. Blue Origin is also working on a new heavy-lift rocket called New Glenn, whose maiden flight is planned for next year.
While the New Shepard rocket only manages suborbital flights, the 98-metre New Glenn rocket will be able to carry up to 45 tons of cargo into low earth orbits. Blue Origin can take credit for the fact that almost all parts of the rocket, including the engines, space capsule, landing gear and parachutes, can be recycled. It is also powered by liquid oxygen and hydrogen, so no carbon emissions are released.
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Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, witnessed the successful return of his space company's rocket to space travel after a year-long hiatus following a crash. Blue Origin's space rival, Virgin Galactic, owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, also engages in space tourism and plans to compete with Blue Origin's upcoming heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn.
Source: www.ntv.de
