Blue Origin’s New Shepard Rocket Set for Return to Action Next Week

The space tourism firm could fly a cargo mission as soon as Monday as it seeks to get back into the commercial space race.

Jack Daleo

Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 03:22 PM ET

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Blue Origin’s New Shepard lifts off for the NS-22 mission on August 4, 2022. [Courtesy: Blue Origin]

Key Takeaways:

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is set to resume flights as early as December 18, after being grounded for over a year due to a September 2022 uncrewed capsule crash caused by a faulty engine nozzle.
The FAA concluded its investigation and cleared Blue Origin to fly again after the company implemented required corrective actions.
During Blue Origin's grounding, rival Virgin Galactic gained momentum by launching its first commercial spaceflight in June and subsequently flying passengers monthly.
Despite the hiatus, Blue Origin remains a significant competitor in the commercial space travel sector, having previously flown paying customers and continuing development on projects like the New Glenn rocket and NASA missions.

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Whether you view it as a small step for the 1 percent or a giant leap for all mankind, commercial space travel has arrived. And the race for the industry’s pole position is heating up.

Blue Origin, the space tourism venture of billionaire ex-Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, announced on X, formerly Twitter, that the company’s New Shepard rocket could fly again as soon as Monday. New Shepard had been grounded by the FAA following the crash of an uncrewed escape capsule in September 2022.