Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s space company, has announced plans to resume test flights following a major mishap last year. The New Shepard rocket, designed to carry passengers to the edge of space, experienced a failure in September 2022 that led the company to ground all flights. Now, Blue Origin plans to perform a suborbital test flight next week, with hopes of eventually resuming flights with passengers.
During the previous incident, the rocket suffered an engine failure about a minute into its flight, leading to an emergency abort system kicking in and jettisoning the capsule away. The investigation into the failure determined that an engine nozzle experienced temperatures that exceeded expected values, prompting the company to work on design changes.
While Blue Origin was grounded, its competitor Virgin Galactic continued to fly passengers to the edge of space and back, highlighting the race to establish commercial space tourism.
In addition to the New Shepard rocket, Blue Origin is also working on its larger and more powerful New Glenn rocket, with hopes of competing for government and commercial business. The company has also secured contracts to launch satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper system, intended to provide Internet access via satellite.
Despite the setback, Blue Origin continues to move forward with its ambitious plans for space exploration and commercial ventures, aiming to expand humanity’s presence beyond Earth.