.jpg) New Shepard rocket on display at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2017 | |
| Function | Launching tourists and cargo on a suborbital trajectory |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Blue Origin |
| Country of origin | United States of America |
| Size | |
| Height | 18m (60ft) |
| Diameter | 3.7 m (12.1 ft) |
| Mass | 75,000 kg (165,000 lb) |
| Stages | 1 |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Launch Site One |
| Total launches | 27 |
| Success(es) | 26 |
| Failure(s) | 1 |
| Landings | 25 |
| First flight | 29 April 2015 |
| Last flight | 23 October 2024 |
| Single stage | |
| Powered by | 1 × BE-3 |
| Maximum thrust | 490 kN (110,000 lbf) |
| Burn time | 141 seconds |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
New Shepard is a fully reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin. The vehicle is named after Alan Shepard, who became the first American to travel into space and the fifth person to walk on the Moon. The vehicle is capable of vertical takeoff and landings. Additionally, it is also capable of carrying humans and customer payloads into a sub-orbital trajectory.
New Shepard consists of a launch rocket and a crew capsule. The capsule can be configured to house up to six passengers, cargo, or a combination of both. The launch rocket is powered by one BE-3PM engine, which sends the capsule above the Kármán line, where passengers and cargo can experience a few minutes of weightlessness before the capsule returns to Earth.
The launch vehicle is designed to be fully reusable, with the capsule returning to Earth via three parachutes and a solid rocket motor. The rocket lands vertically on a landing pad 3.2 km north of the launch pad. The company has successfully launched and landed the New Shepard launch vehicle 26 times with 1 partial failure deemed successful[1] and 1 failure. The launch vehicle has a length of 15 meters (49 ft), a diameter of 3.7 meters (12 ft) and a launch mass of 75,000 kilograms (165,000 lb). The BE-3PM engine produces 490 kilonewtons (110,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff.[2]
- ^ Jones, Caleb. "New Shepard | NS-1". Space Launch Now. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ Jones, Caleb. "Space Launch Now – New Shepard". Space Launch Now. Retrieved 2 July 2023.