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.
The flight to the edge of space lasted 10 minutes and 13 seconds.
The mission had been planned for Monday but was scrubbed due to a ground system issue.
“A special thank-you to all of our customers who flew important science [Tuesday] and the students who contributed postcards to advance our future of living and working in space for the benefit of Earth,” Phil Joyce, senior vice president of New Shepard, said in a statement following the flight. “Demand for New Shepard flights continues to grow, and we’re looking forward to increasing our flight cadence in 2024.”
In September 2022, a booster failure during the launch of the uncrewed NS-23 mission led to a mishap. While the crew capsule was not damaged, the incident prompted a yearlong FAA inquiry. Earlier this year, the company said the mishap was the result of a faulty engine nozzle.
Liftoff 🚀#NS24 pic.twitter.com/85wTik0CET
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) December 19, 2023
