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Forum:Commercial Space - Military Space
Topic:Blue Origin New Shepard: Mission 9 (NS-9)
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Robert PearlmanBlue Origin update
On Mission 9, we're firing the crew capsule escape motor at the highest altitude ever. We are stressing the rocket to test that astronauts can get away from an anomaly at any time during flight.
Robert PearlmanA successful ninth flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard. It was the third flight for this rocket and capsule.
  • Mission launch time: 10:11 a.m. CDT
  • Max ascent velocity: 2,236 mph
  • Crew capsule apogee: 389,846 feet (119 km)
  • Mission elapsed time: 11 minutes, 17 seconds
olyWas today's launch the first flight to pass 100 km altitude?
Robert PearlmanThe previous seven flights (all but the first test flight) flew above 100 kilometers.
Robert PearlmanNASA release
Latest Blue Origin Launch Tests Technologies of Interest to Space Exploration

Blue Origin successfully launched its New Shepard rocket on July 18 from the company's West Texas launch site with five NASA-supported technologies onboard. The flight helped researchers collect critical data to help them confirm theories, refine previous results and fine-tune experiments for future testing.

Selected for flight test by NASA's Flight Opportunities, many of the payloads on this New Shepard flight aim to provide value to other payloads on future flights.

A sensor package developed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will help measure critical data such as acceleration, pressure, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide levels and acoustic levels within a suborbital vehicle in flight. SFEM-2 stands for Suborbital Flight Experiment Monitor-2. It was flown once before on Blue Origin in April 2018.

"We modified the acceleration measurement range, allowing us to capture higher g levels from the flight," said Johnson's Kathryn Hurlbert, principal. "This, combined with the data from the first flight, should provide an extensive set of parameters of the test environment."

Some of the payloads flying on this Blue Origin flight also aim to provide value to other researchers. For example, the company Solstar sent the world's first commercial tweet from space on the Blue Origin flight in April. This time, the company continued work toward increasing the robustness of WIFI in space with an antenna designed to withstand the rigors of a rocket demonstration.

Through the program, the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) selects promising technologies from industry, academia and government for testing. The Flight Opportunities program has helped to test and mature 136 technologies through 162 suborbital flights. The program is funded by STMD and managed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

"NASA needs technologies that enable space exploration," said Ryan Dibley, NASA FO campaign manager. "The Flight Opportunities program funds the flights on commercial suborbital vehicles to test these technologies in a relevant environment, enabling researchers to validate their technology, as well as fostering the public and private relationships that grow this nation's economy."

Robert PearlmanBlue Origin release
Blue Origin Mission 9: Safe Escape In Any Phase of Flight

New Shepard flew for the ninth time on July 18, 2018. During this mission, known as Mission 9 (M9), the escape motor was fired shortly after booster separation. The Crew Capsule was pushed hard by the escape test and we stressed the rocket to test that astronauts can get away from an anomaly at any time during flight. The mission was a success for both the booster and capsule. Most importantly, astronauts would have had an exhilarating ride and safe landing.

Above: New Shepard Crew Capsule, July 18, 2018, during descent on Mission 9.

This isn’t the first time we’ve done this type of extreme testing on New Shepard. In October of 2012, we simulated a booster failure on the launch pad and had a successful escape. Then in October of 2016, we simulated a booster failure in-flight at Max Q, which is the most physically strenuous point in the flight for the rocket, and had a completely successful escape of the capsule.

This test on M9 allowed us to finally characterize escape motor performance in the near-vacuum of space and guarantee that we can safely return our astronauts in any phase of flight.

Also on M9, New Shepard carried science and research payloads from commercial companies, universities and space agencies.

Larry McGlynnThat was amazing. They put the system through its paces in space. Now they are looking for new employees. If I were a young aerospace graduate, I would be flocking to Blue Origin.

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