Blue Origin is ready to launch the uncrewed NS-27 mission at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), 8:00 AM PDT on Wednesday, October 23, from West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch, sending a brand-new New Shepard rocket-capsule combo on a brief trip to suborbital space.
Blue Origin released a statement on October 4 before the first attempt at a launch, “The vehicle features technology upgrades to improve the vehicle’s performance and reusability, an updated livery and accommodations for payloads on the booster.”
The history of the New Shepard 27 mission began on October 7 which was scrubbed following an extended hold while the technical team attempted to troubleshoot an issue with the vehicle. Another try six days later was scuttled by a GPS issue.
The New Shepard reusable launch system is a vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing (VTVL), suborbital manned rocket that is being developed by Blue Origin as a commercial system for suborbital space tourism.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 71°F, broken clouds, 81% cloud cover and a wind speed of 5mph.
The eight previous crewed launches have used Booster 4 and the RSS First Step capsule. The NS-27 mission will debut and verify that RSS Kármán Line and Booster 5 meet Blue Origin’s needs and perform as expected as the company’s launch manifest increases. The vehicle features an updated livery and technology upgrades that improve its performance and reusability. The new capsule’s name refers to the boundary line that is widely regarded as the start of space.
Among the new upgrades is an accommodation for carrying payloads on the booster — five of which will be carried on this flight — while another seven will be inside the crew capsule. New navigation systems developed for the New Shepard and New Glenn vehicles are among these payloads, alongside two different Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensors for the Lunar Permanence program.
NS-27 is also carrying some ultra-wideband sensors as part of a NASA TechFlights grant and some reproductions of the black monoliths from the classic space movie 2001: A Space Odyssey for Spacemanic. As with other New Shepard flights, tens of thousands of student-designed postcards from Blue Origin’s Club for the Future program will also be onboard.
Blue Origin NS-27 launch — maybe Sunday the 13th will be lucky
Another possible date for the evasive New Shephard-27 mission is now looking at Sunday, October 13 at 6:00 am to 1:30 pm PDT. Texas weather looks good and hopefully all the systems say GO!
The forecast calls for a temperature of 64°F, scattered clouds, 34% cloud cover and a wind speed of 1mph.
Blue Origin is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight services company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos with its headquarters in Kent, Washington. The company is developing technologies to enable private human access to space with the goal to dramatically lower costs and increase reliability. Blue Origin currently launches its New Shepard sub-orbital vehicle from its West Texas launch site, they are currently constructing a launch pad for their orbital vehicle New Glenn at Cape Canaveral LC-36.
Blue Origin moves New Shepard-27 launch again, now it’s Friday, hopefully
Although Blue Origin’s previous attempt on Monday to launch the unmanned New Shepard-27 was scrubbed the new tentative date is Friday, October 11, at 9:00 AM EDT (13:00 UTC) from Launch Site One in West Texas. The scrub was the result of the crew‘s discovery when troubleshooting an issue on the launch vehicle that resulted in overrunning the launch window.
On Monday the announcement came from the decision makers…
“We’re going to scrub the launch for today. They’re troubleshooting a vehicle issue that will basically take us outside our available launch window,” Joel Eby, creative director at Blue Origin, said during the company’s launch webcast on Monday.
“Always disappointing to get to this point,” Eby added. “But, you know, we want to make sure all these systems are completely ready to go and be certain about the launch conditions for flight.”
The forecast calls for a temperature of 65°F, clear skies, 0% cloud cover and a wind speed of 2 mph.
Blue Origin moves New Shepard-27 launch to Thursday
Blue Origin will attempt another launch of their NS-27 uncrewed verification flight debuting Blue Origin’s second human-rated vehicle to meet growing customer demand on Thursday, October 10th, at 6:00 AM – 1:30 PM PDT. On Monday the flight was scrubbed due to technical difficulty.
On Monday the announcement came from the decision makers…
“We’re going to scrub the launch for today. They’re troubleshooting a vehicle issue that will basically take us outside our available launch window,” Joel Eby, creative director at Blue Origin, said during the company’s launch webcast on Monday.
“Always disappointing to get to this point,” Eby added. “But, you know, we want to make sure all these systems are completely ready to go and be certain about the launch conditions for flight.”
The new crew capsule is named RSS Kármán Line. The vehicle features technology upgrades to improve the vehicle’s performance and reusability, an updated livery, and accommodations for payloads on the booster.
The launch will take place at West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch which has witnessed the launch of 26 rockets, including 0 orbital launch attempts.
The weather currently is cooperative if the launch takes place on Thursday, as the forecast calls for a temperature of 65° F, clear skies, 0% cloud cover and a wind speed of 4 mph.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard plans Wednesday launch after Monday’s technical issue scrub
Blue Origin will attempt another launch of their NS-27 uncrewed verification flight debuting Blue Origin’s second human-rated vehicle to meet growing customer demand on Wednesday, October 9th, at 6:00 AM – 1:30 PM PDT. On Monday the flight was scrubbed due to technical difficulty.
Blue Origin’s NS-27 will fly 12 payloads — 12 research payloads, five of them on the booster and seven inside the capsule. Payloads include new navigation systems developed for New Shepard and New Glenn; two different LIDAR sensors for the Lunar Permanence program; ultra-wideband proximity operations sensors flying as part of a NASA TechFlights grant with Blue Origin’s Space Systems Development group; and a commercial payload that is a reproduction of black monoliths from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The monoliths are flying on behalf of Spacemanic for a special edition printed by Croatian publisher Amaranthine Books.
Eight of the vehicle’s 26 flights to date have been crewed using the same New Shepard vehicle — the Booster 4/RSS First Step combo. This second human-rated spacecraft will enable “expanded flight capacity to better meet growing customer demand,” according to the the company’s statement.
The new crew capsule is named RSS Kármán Line. The vehicle features technology upgrades to improve the vehicle’s performance and reusability, an updated livery, and accommodations for payloads on the booster.
The launch will take place at West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch which has witnessed the launch of 26 rockets, including 0 orbital launch attempts.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 66° F, clear skies, 0% cloud cover and a wind speed of 6 mph.
Bezos scrubs Blue Origin’s uncrewed NS-27 mission on Monday
Jeff Bezos‘ plan to launch the uncrewed NS-27 mission Monday morning (October 7), to send a New Shepard rocket-capsule combo on a brief trip to suborbital space were scrubbed due to technical issues. A new date has not yet been announced that will launch from the company’s West Texas site.
“We’re going to scrub the launch for today. They’re troubleshooting a vehicle issue that will basically take us outside our available launch window,” Joel Eby, creative director at Blue Origin, said during the company’s launch webcast on Monday.
“Always disappointing to get to this point,” Eby added. “But, you know, we want to make sure all these systems are completely ready to go and be certain about the launch conditions for flight.”
12:14 PM CDT
We’re standing down on today’s launch attempt to troubleshoot a vehicle issue that would’ve taken us beyond our launch window. New launch target forthcoming.
10:25 AM CDT
New Shepard is going through final checks in advance of today’s uncrewed verification flight. We’re running a bit ahead of schedule. The NS-27 launch window will open at 11:00 AM CDT / 16:00 UTC. Webcast begins 15 minutes prior to liftoff on blueorigin.com/live.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard ready to test NS-27 the newest booster on Monday’s launch
On Monday, October 7th, at 6:00 AM – 1:30 PM PDT, Blue Origin plans the launch of the twenty-seventh flight of New Shepard from West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch , which will be flying unmanned as a test for the newest booster. NS-27 will fly 12 payloads—five on the booster and seven inside the crew capsule.
NS-27 will mark the debut of the second human-rated New Shepard vehicle, which consists of a first stage known as Booster 5 and a crew capsule named RSS Kármán Line. (The Kármán line is the 62-mile-high boundary that many people regard as the start of outer space.)
The new crew capsule is named RSS Kármán line. The vehicle features technology upgrades to improve the vehicle’s performance and reusability, an updated livery, and accommodations for payloads on the booster.
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch has witnessed the launch of 26 rockets, including 0 orbital launch attempts, while Corn Ranch, Van Horn, Texas, has been the site for 26 rocket launches.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 64°F, clear skies, 0% cloud cover and a wind speed of 3mph.
Blue Origin Debuts Second Human-Rated New Shepard Rocket To Meet Demand
Blue Origin’s next New Shepard flight, NS-27, will debut our second human-rated vehicle, enabling expanded flight capacity to better meet growing customer demand. The launch window for the uncrewed verification flight opens on Monday, October 7, at 8:00 AM CDT / 1300 UTC. The webcast will begin 15 minutes before liftoff on BlueOrigin.com.
The new crew capsule is named RSS Kármán Line. The vehicle features technology upgrades to improve the vehicle’s performance and reusability, an updated livery, and accommodations for payloads on the booster. New Shepard remains one of the most sustainable rockets ever to fly to space. Nearly 99% of New Shepard’s dry mass is reused, including the booster, capsule, engine, landing gear, and parachutes.
NS-27 will fly 12 payloads — five on the booster and seven inside the crew capsule. Payloads include new navigation systems developed for New Shepard and New Glenn; two different LIDAR sensors for the Lunar Permanence program; ultra-wideband proximity operations sensors flying as part of a NASA TechFlights grant with Blue Origin’s Space Systems Development group; and a commercial payload that is a reproduction of black monoliths from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The monoliths are flying on behalf of Spacemanic for a special edition printed by Croatian publisher Amaranthine Books.
The mission will also carry tens of thousands of student-designed postcards on behalf of Club for the Future, Blue Origin’s STEAM-focused nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. The organization has engaged more than 43 million students globally since its founding in 2019.
