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| Forum: | Commercial Space - Military Space |
| Topic: | Blue Origin New Shepard: Mission 23 (NS-23) |
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| | Robert Pearlman | At about 1 minute, 5 seconds into the flight, as the vehicle was passing through max q (maximum dynamic pressure), a problem with the New Shepard rocket was detected and the capsule autonomously fired its abort motor, separating it from the booster. The capsule then deployed its parachutes and landed safely. Details as to what happened to cause the abort were not immediately known. From Blue Origin (via Twitter): We're responding to an issue this morning at our Launch Site One location in West Texas. More information to come as it is available.Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight. Escape system performed as designed. During today's flight, the capsule escape system successfully separated the capsule from the booster. The booster impacted the ground. There are no reported injuries; all personnel have been accounted for.  | | Headshot | Are there any reports about the booster itself? I assume that it crashed and maybe exploded on impact since it may still have had a lot of fuel on board. | | Robert Pearlman | Blue Origin only said this of the booster: The booster impacted the ground. There are no reported injuries; all personnel have been accounted for. | | Robert Pearlman | Blue Origin release Blue Origin NS-23 Findings - The direct cause of the NS-23 mishap was a thermo-structural failure of the engine nozzle. The resulting thrust misalignment properly triggered the Crew Capsule escape system, which functioned as designed throughout the flight.
- The Crew Capsule and all payloads onboard landed safely and will be flown again.
- All systems designed to protect public safety functioned as planned. There were no injuries. There was no damage to ground-based systems, and all debris was recovered in the designated hazard area.
- Blue Origin expects to return to flight soon, with a re-flight of the NS-23 payloads.
The NS-23 mishap resulted in the loss of New Shepard (NS) Propulsion Module Tail 3. The Crew Capsule escape system worked as designed, bringing the capsule and its payloads to a safe landing at Launch Site One with no damage. As part of the response to the Crew Capsule escape, the Propulsion Module commanded shutdown of the BE-3PM engine and followed an unpowered trajectory to impact within the defined flight safety analysis prediction, resulting in no danger to human life or property. Public safety was unaffected by the mishap, and no changes to crew safety system designs were recommended as a result of the investigation. In accordance with the New Shepard Mishap Investigation Plan, Blue Origin formed a Mishap Investigation Team (MIT), led by members of Blue Origin's Safety & Mission Assurance organization. The investigation was conducted with FAA oversight and included representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board and NASA's Flight Opportunities Program and Commercial Crew Office. The MIT stood up debris search and recovery efforts at Launch Site One immediately following the mishap and recovered all critical flight hardware within days. Blue Origin also convened a Mishap Review Board (MRB), which included external non-advocate advisors. The MRB reviewed causal determinations made by the MIT and will continue to exercise oversight of the corrective action implementation. Aided by onboard video and telemetry, flight hardware recovered from the field, and the work of Blue Origin's materials labs and test facilities, the MIT determined the direct cause of the mishap to be a structural fatigue failure of the BE-3PM engine nozzle during powered flight. The structural fatigue was caused by operational temperatures that exceeded the expected and analyzed values of the nozzle material. Testing of the BE-3PM engine began immediately following the mishap and established that the flight configuration of the nozzle operated at hotter temperatures than previous design configurations. Forensic evaluation of the recovered nozzle fragments also showed clear evidence of thermal damage and hot streaks resulting from increased operating temperatures. The fatigue location on the flight nozzle is aligned with a persistent hot streak identified during the investigation. The MIT determined that design changes made to the engine's boundary layer cooling system accounted for an increase in nozzle heating and explained the hot streaks present. Blue Origin is implementing corrective actions, including design changes to the combustion chamber and operating parameters, which have reduced engine nozzle bulk and hot-streak temperatures. Additional design changes to the nozzle have improved structural performance under thermal and dynamic loads. Blue Origin expects to return to flight soon, with a re-flight of the NS-23 payloads. | | Headshot | Just a hypothetical question but had this occurred with passengers onboard, would they have been entitled to a free re-flight? | | Robert Pearlman | That would be up to Blue Origin's terms of service, which the company says are confidential. Passengers could have also taken out travel insurance policies (past space station spaceflight participants have done just that with Lloyd's of London). | | Robert Pearlman | Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) release FAA Closes Blue Origin Mishap InvestigationThe FAA has closed the Blue Origin New Shepard 23 mishap investigation. The final report cites the proximate cause of the Sept. 12, 2022, mishap as the structural failure of an engine nozzle caused by higher than expected engine operating temperatures. The FAA required Blue Origin implement 21 corrective actions to prevent mishap reoccurrence, including redesign of engine and nozzle components to improve structural performance during operation as well as organizational changes. During the mishap the onboard launch vehicle systems detected the anomaly, triggered an abort and separation of the capsule from the propulsion module as intended and shut down the engine. The capsule landed safety and the propulsion module was destroyed upon impact with the ground. All debris landed within the designated hazard area. Public safety was maintained at all times with no injuries or public property damage. The closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of New Shepard launches. Blue Origin must implement all corrective actions that impact public safety and receive a license modification from the FAA that addresses all safety and other applicable regulatory requirements prior to the next New Shepard launch. Learn more about mishap investigations. Background - The FAA oversaw the Blue Origin-led investigation to ensure the company complied with its FAA-approved mishap plan, the terms and conditions of its license and other regulatory requirements.
- The FAA was involved in every step of the mishap investigation and granted NASA and the National Transportation Safety Board official observer status.
- The mishap investigation report contains proprietary data and U.S Export Control information and is not available for public release.
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