Blue Origin's New Shepard Makes Unmanned Cargo Flight

The launch is the first since September 2022 when an FAA investigation grounded the space tourism venture.

Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 05:07 PM ET

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Blue Origin's New Shepard, going through final checks in advance of the launch Tuesday near Van Horn, Texas. [Courtesy: Blue Origin]

Key Takeaways:

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket successfully completed its 24th mission (NS-24), marking its first flight since being grounded in September 2022 after an FAA investigation.
The unmanned cargo mission carried 33 payloads for NASA and research institutions, along with 38,000 postcards, in a flight lasting 10 minutes and 13 seconds.
The program was grounded for over a year following a booster failure during the uncrewed NS-23 mission in September 2022, which was later attributed to a faulty engine nozzle.
Blue Origin intends to increase its flight cadence for the New Shepard program in 2024 due to growing demand.

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Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket was back in business Tuesday, launching its 24th mission and first since September 2022 when an FAA investigation grounded the suborbital space tourism venture.

The unmanned cargo mission, dubbed NS-24, launched from the Blue Origin launch site near Van Horn, Texas, shortly before 11 a.m. CDT. On board its capsule were 33 payloads from NASA and research institutions, including 38,000 postcards from the company’s Postcards to Space nonprofit program.