9.12.2019
The next launch of #NewShepard is planned for Tues Dec 10 at 8:30am CST/14:30 UTC. Weather looks good for now. We’re flying our 100th commercial payload to space & thousands of postcards from our nonprofit
. Webcast starts T-30. Watch live at http://blueorigin.com
Quelle: Blue Origin
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Blue Origin gets set to send thousands of postcards to space and back on test flight
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture says it’s targeting Tuesday for the next uncrewed flight test of its New Shepard suborbital spaceship, with a cargo manifest that should warm kids’ hearts for the holidays.
The company said in a tweet today that it’ll fly thousands of postcards that have been gathered through its educational program, known as the Club for the Future.
This will be Blue Origin’s 12th New Shepard test mission, and it will mark the flight of the company’s 100th commercial payload to space and back.
Launch from Blue Origin’s West Texas spaceport is set for 8:30 a.m. CT (6:30 a.m. PT) Tuesday, although that time could slip due to weather or technical concerns. “Weather looks good for now,” Blue Origin tweeted.
Blue Origin plans to provide video coverage via its website.
Bezos kicked off the Club for the Future program in May, when he unveiled Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar lander in Washington, D.C. Ever since then, Blue Origin has been collecting “Space Mail” postcards, on which kids can draw or write up their vision for having millions of people living and working in space.
In August, Bezos reported that postcards have been received from 22 countries. “I’ve seen the messages, and they are so hopeful and inspiring,” he said on Instagram.
The postcards will go up to space and come back down on New Shepard. Then they’ll be mailed back to their original senders.
In addition to the postcards, Blue Origin will be flying an array of science and technology experiments. Many of them are paid for under the terms of NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. In October, NASA issued a list that included 11 technologies slated to be tested on New Shepard.
The main objective of the upcoming flight is to test New Shepard’s reusable propulsion module and crew capsule in advance of flights with people on board. The most recent uncrewed trip took place in May.
New Shepard is expected to start carrying people to heights beyond 100 kilometers (62 miles) sometime next year. The first to fly are likely to be Blue Origin staffers. Paying passengers would follow, but the company hasn’t yet started taking reservations. Ticket prices are still up in the air, but Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith recently said they’d be in the range of hundreds of thousands of dollars to start.
In addition to the New Shepard suborbital space program and the Blue Moon lunar lander program, Blue Origin is working on an orbital-class New Glenn rocket that could start flying in 2021.
The hardware for New Shepard and for New Glenn’s BE-4 rocket engine are currently built at Blue Origin’s headquarters in Kent, Wash., which is being dramatically expanded. Eventually, BE-4 production will shift to Alabama, and New Glenn will be assembled in and launched from Florida.
Quelle: GeekWire
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Update: 10.12.2019
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SCRUBBED on Dec 10 due to weather. Launch time: Dec 11, 9:30 am EST (14:30 UTC) Launch site: Blue Origin West Texas Suborbital Launch Site Destination: Suborbital flight, self-landing rocket NS-12 is the 6th flight for this particular New Shepard vehicle, and the 12th New Shepard flight overall. The previous booster flew 5 times consecutively, with minimal refurbishment between flights. This will also be the 9th commercial payload mission for New Shepard, and Blue Origin's 100th customer payload is on board. Also on the vehicle are thousands of postcards from students around the world for the nonprofit Club for the Future. The Club's mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and help visualize the future of life in space. Scrubbed on Dec 10 due to weather.
Quelle: Blue Origin
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Update: 11.12.2019
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Quelle: Blue Origin