Blue Origins’ New Shepard spacecraft makes first test flight

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin spacecraft New Shepard made its first development test flight on Wednesday. The missile was launched from Bezos’ private launch site in the Texas desert.

The test flight brought the New Shepard 93.6 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. The capsule and rocket were developed by Blue Origin under a “shroud of mystery,” New Scientist writes. Only a few short-haul flights were reported and a failed launch reaching an altitude of fourteen kilometers.

This test went pretty well, except that one function didn’t quite do what it was supposed to do, Bezos writes on his development blog. Due to a fault in the propulsion module’s hydraulic system, it was not possible to retrieve it after it detached from the capsule. Technically, the launch did not go well because of this, but Bezos believes that the launch was a success regardless of the hydraulic failure. The unmanned capsule that normally fits six people was neatly disconnected, before descending quietly to the earth’s surface with the help of parachutes.

The name New Shepard comes from Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Bezos’ goal is the same as Richard Branson’s with his company Virgin Galactic. Blue Origin works together with the United Launch Alliance, among other things, to build engines for the future Vulcan rocket. The company is also working on a version of the New Shepard that can be put into orbit and docked to the International Space Station.

1. Blue Origin launch 2. Last view from capsule on rocket just after repulsion 3. The capsule on its parachutes