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Blue Origin Pushed Its Rocket 'To Its Limits' With High-Altitude Emergency Abort Test (theverge.com)
Blue Origin pulled off another successful test launch today, landing both the New Shepard rocket -- a reusable vehicle designed to take tourists to the edge of space and back -- and capsule after flight. From a report: The company ignited the capsule's emergency motor after it had separated from the rocket, pushing the spacecraft up to a top altitude of around 74 miles -- a new record for Blue Origin. The firing also caused the capsule to sustain up to 10 Gs during the test, but Blue Origin host Ariane Cornell said "that is well within what humans can take, especially for such a short spurt of time."
[...] The rocket which went up today is the third New Shepard vehicle that the company has ever flown. The first one flew to a super high altitude in April 2015, but the booster was unable to land back on Earth after flight. The second iteration of the vehicle was much more successful, however. Blue Origin launched and landed the rocket and booster a total of five times before retiring the system. This third New Shepard has already done two launches and landings, and it sports some upgrades over its predecessors. For instance, this one actually has windows in the crew capsule; the second vehicle had its windows painted on. Blue Origin is building even more vehicles to carry passengers, though there isn't a firm date for when the first crewed flights will occur. The company's president Rob Meyerson has estimated that the first test passengers could fly as soon as this year, while commercial flights could start in 2019. Blue Origin also plans to start selling tickets next year, too.
[...] The rocket which went up today is the third New Shepard vehicle that the company has ever flown. The first one flew to a super high altitude in April 2015, but the booster was unable to land back on Earth after flight. The second iteration of the vehicle was much more successful, however. Blue Origin launched and landed the rocket and booster a total of five times before retiring the system. This third New Shepard has already done two launches and landings, and it sports some upgrades over its predecessors. For instance, this one actually has windows in the crew capsule; the second vehicle had its windows painted on. Blue Origin is building even more vehicles to carry passengers, though there isn't a firm date for when the first crewed flights will occur. The company's president Rob Meyerson has estimated that the first test passengers could fly as soon as this year, while commercial flights could start in 2019. Blue Origin also plans to start selling tickets next year, too.
My name is New Shepard, and this is my favorite spot in the atmosphere.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
Maybe in a couple of years Blue Origin will actually put something useful into orbit. You know, like SpaceX has done about 60 some odd times so far.
How about a moderation of -1 pedantic.
Blue Origin is concentrating on the passenger market and sending people is much more difficult than cargo.
I would think geeks here would be excited that commercial space travel is progressing so well - regardless of who's doing it.
"The first one flew to a super high altitude in April 2015, but the booster was unable to land back on Earth after flight."
So, did the aliens snatch it out of the sky, or what?
WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE?!?!?!
A rocket that looks like a phallus sustained 10Gs in a short "spurt" of time.
.at least Trump is solving the Korea was problem
Well, to be fair, the solution is up to Kim, not Trump, though Trump may get the credit for brokering the deal. Right now the North Koreans are running around trying to figure out exactly how much of their nuclear program they can hide and are busy finding and filling holes with paperwork and equipment. This will take awhile, so I don't expect any "progress" with NK until this is done and the radiation in certain areas has died down.
The proof will be that Trump doesn't relax sanctions on NK until the disarmament has been independently verified, which means North Korea will need to allow unfettered onsite inspections. My guess is Kim is just stalling, hoping that the appearance of peace and the press swirling around Trump makes it possible to get sanctions removed on the mere promise from Kim. I think Kim is mistaken, but I guess I can see why he's dragging his feet at this point, given the political landscape in the USA and the press reporting on it.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
A liar? Man, your marriage counseling sessions must get rough.
How fit will you have to be to make one of these trips? If you have to be able to withstand up to 10G for any amount of time, even if just in an emergency, how do you determine who is fit enough to be a space tourist? Granted, that is less than many car wrecks but still dangerous...
--I like turtles...
I'm much more concerned with Jeff Bezos than I am with Kim Jong-un. Jeff has proven launch capabilities, slave labor work camps, and a completely secret nuclear program. No one, not the CIA, NSA, KGB, or SPCA knows exactly how many nuclear weapons he has. The US needs immediate sanctions in place to begin taxing this guy.
The US military has thousands of nuclear weapons, I only have three...What are they worried about?
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Those weapons could each be hidden inside of any Amazon warehouse, Amazon locker, or Amazon delivery vehicle or Amazon package. Jeff can literally hide his nuclear arsenal in billions of locations. Not even Jack Bauer would be able to find them in time. Sanction Amazon now.
My point was that Kim is the one deciding how this plays out. Trump has put his position on the table, complete verified disarmament before sanctions get lifted, Kim can either accept it or the sanctions remain in place.
Trump get's credit for negotiating the deal, but Kim is the one making the choices at this point.
Obviously the North Koreans are following their old warn path in their tactics. Talk, give up a little bit of something, then backtrack claiming some insult once they get what they want. They play the North and South Korean press, holding out that olive branch of peace, only to toss it into the fire once the heat is off. They are just trying to figure out how much they can get away with and how much power Trump is ready and able to apply. I think they are going to regret calling Trump's bluff if and when they do.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
Virgil R. "Gus" Grissom: "Hey, little lady. How would you like one of these?"
Bar Tendress: "I can get one of those anywhere."
Gus: "Not one that's been in space you can't!"
"Well! I might be interested...if it's been in space!"
Modern Slashdot Nerd who buys a space ride: "It's been in space, wink!"
Woman at Bar: "Still no thanks."
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
If it weren't for SpaceX, this would be impressive, but they have a lot of catching up to do. The H2/O2 engine is nice for upper stages, but I can't find any specific impulse numbers so it isn't clear how well they are doing. (there are valid arguments for either kerosine / O2, or H2/O2 for upper stages)).
The landing is still a hover / descend landing. That shows great throttability of the engine, but the SpaceX suicide burn is more efficient and they seem to be getting pretty good reliability with that.
They are only sub-orbital, so they don't yet need good engine performance.
Its not really clear where Blue Origin is pushing the envelope of existing space technology, but its good to have more players in the market. They have plans for an orbital rocket in ~2020, and that will be a better test of how they are doing.
Call it 'the Darwin'.