Blue Origin NS-25

Blue Origin NS-25
Mission typeCrewed sub-orbital spaceflight
Mission duration9 minutes, 53 seconds
Apogee106 km (66 mi)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftRSS First Step
ManufacturerBlue Origin
Crew
Crew size6
Members
Start of mission
Launch date19 May 2024, 14:35:09 UTC
RocketNew Shepard (NS4)
Launch siteCorn Ranch, LS-1
ContractorBlue Origin
End of mission
Landing date19 May 2024, 14:45:02 UTC
Landing siteCorn Ranch

Blue Origin NS-25 mission patch

Blue Origin NS-25 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission, operated by Blue Origin, which was launched on 19 May 2024 using the New Shepard rocket.[1][2]

NS-25 was the first crewed New Shepard flight since NS-22 in August 2022. The New Shepard fleet was grounded following a September 2022 engine failure on an uncrewed mission. The vehicle resumed flight in December 2023.[3]

NS-25 carried a crew of six to a maximum altitude of around 106 km.[4] At T+03:12, the crew experienced weightlessness, and at T+03:31, the capsule passed the Kármán line.[5] The booster landed 7 minutes after launch, while the capsule, deploying only 2 of its 3 parachutes, touched down 10 minutes after liftoff. Launch commentators assured that the capsule is designed to land safely with only two parachutes.[6][7]

  1. ^ "New Shepard's 25th Mission Includes America's First Black Astronaut Candidate". Blue Origin. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  2. ^ Mike Wall (2024-04-04). "Blue Origin will launch Ed Dwight, the 1st-ever Black astronaut candidate, to space on next New Shepard rocket flight". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  3. ^ Foust, Jeff (2024-04-05). "Blue Origin to resume crewed New Shepard flights". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  4. ^ Foust, Jeff (May 19, 2024). "Blue Origin resumes crewed New Shepard suborbital flights".
  5. ^ "Replay: New Shepard Mission NS-25 Webcast". YouTube. 2024-05-19. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  6. ^ Wall, Mike (2024-05-19). "Blue Origin launches 1st crewed spaceflight since August 2022 (video)". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  7. ^ Davis, Wes (2024-05-19). "All the news about Blue Origin's first crewed flight since 2022". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-05-20.