New Shepard makes another successful test flight
Capitalism in space: Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard spacecraft made another successful test flight today, reaching approximately 350,000 feet elevation, about 66 miles.
This was the fourth flight for this second New Shepard craft, and the tenth overall of their test program.
I have embedded the video of the launch below the fold.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Capitalism in space: Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard spacecraft made another successful test flight today, reaching approximately 350,000 feet elevation, about 66 miles.
This was the fourth flight for this second New Shepard craft, and the tenth overall of their test program.
I have embedded the video of the launch below the fold.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
I just don’t understand the appeal of New Shepard, 11 min, thats all you get in near-space? How is that even marketable?
Kyle Kooy: Ten years ago a short suborbital flight for tourists had some strong market appeal, as it was pretty much the only relatively low cost option for private citizens who could not afford the big price tag for a Soyuz orbital flight.
Today however your skepticism is more warranted. Orbital tourist flights, at a much lower cost, seem just around the corner. This will make tourist flights on these suborbital spacecraft less interesting.
At the same time, there is money to be made with a reusable suborbital research craft, as was done on this very flight by Blue Origin. Science and engineering payloads need a cheap way to do tests. Expect this section of the rocket industry to move in this direction.