NEWS  Science  May 20, 2024  Reading time: 2 Minute(s)

Max (RS editor)

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, following a mid-flight failure during an uncrewed research mission in September 2022, was grounded for an extensive investigation period. Over a year later, the spacecraft returned to flight last December for a cargo mission. On Sunday, New Shepard successfully launched a crew of astronauts on its NS-25 space tourism mission.

Lifting off from its West Texas launch site, the crew capsule separated from the launcher and reached an altitude of approximately 106 kilometers, just surpassing the Kármán line, the recognized boundary of space. The suborbital flight proceeded nominally; however, one of the three main parachutes failed to fully inflate during descent. Despite this, Blue Origin assured that landing with two parachutes is within the safety parameters of the system. 

Ariane Cornell, Blue Origin’s director of astronaut and orbital sales, emphasized during the livestream that the capsule is designed for such redundancies, allowing it to land safely with two operational parachutes.

Nevertheless, this parachute issue will likely prompt further investigation due to the implications for future safety.

Attention is warranted not only from Blue Origin and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) but also from other spaceflight stakeholders. Space reporter Stephen Clark from Ars Technica highlighted on X that New Shepard’s main parachutes are produced by Airborne Systems. This company also supplies parachutes for other crew capsules, including SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, Boeing’s Starliner, and NASA’s Orion, which is part of the Artemis program aimed at returning humans to the Moon.

As of now, Blue Origin has not issued a statement regarding the parachute anomaly. Despite this, the NS-25 mission was declared a success, and the crew expressed their enthusiasm for the experience.

“Life-changing experience. Everybody needs to do this”

remarked former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight after landing. Selected by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as the nation’s first black astronaut candidate, Dwight finally got a taste of spaceflight, adding:

“I thought I really didn’t need this in my life, but now I need it in my life. This is fabulous.”

 MEDIA CREDITS: BLUE ORIGINS