Updated at 10:44 a.m. ET: Blue Origin canceled the planned launch of the NS-24 mission on New Shepard today (December 18) due to a ground system issue. Blue Origin says the new launch target will be announced this week once it is determined.
Blue Origin is expected to launch its first mission in more than 15 months this week after a series of delays, and you can watch the event live when the time comes.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle is now scheduled to lift off from the company’s site in West Texas sometime this week during a window that will open at 9:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) on launch day. Blue Origin attempted to launch the mission on Monday (December 18), but canceled the attempt due to a “ground system issue” with its launch pad.
“We are scanning #NS24 today due to a ground system issue that the team is troubleshooting,” Blue Origin said Written on X, formerly Twitter. “We will introduce a new launch target for this week soon.”
When you select a new launch day, you’ll be able to watch the event live Via Blue OriginFounded by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Space.com will carry the company feed if possible. Coverage could begin at 9:10 a.m. EST (1410 GMT) on launch day, based on the company’s previous webcast schedules.
Related: Blue Origin says it knows why its New Shepard rocket failed to launch
New Shepard is a reusable rocket capsule assembly that transports people and payloads into suborbital space. The vehicle has not flown since September 12, 2022, when it suffered a malfunction during an unmanned research flight.
This failure resulted in the loss of New Shepard’s first stage booster, although the capsule landed safely under parachutes and the 36 research payloads remained intact.
Blue Origin’s unfortunate investigation determined the cause of the accident to be a “structural thermal failure” of the nozzle on the engine that powers the New Shepard booster. The company has implemented corrective measures and is now ready to fly again.
Like the September 2022 flight, today’s mission — known as NS-24, because it will be New Shepard’s 24th liftoff — is unmanned. It will carry 33 research payloads, more than half of which were “developed and flown with support from NASA,” Blue Origin wrote in a statement. Task description.
“Others come from K-12 schools, universities, and STEAM-focused organizations,” they added. (STEAM stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics.”)
Today’s flight will also carry 38,000 postcards for Club for the Future, a non-profit organization founded by Blue Origin that aims to attract young people interested in space science and exploration.
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