posted 09-22-2020 09:51 AM               

Next New Shepard Launch Will Test Key Technologies with NASA for Returning to the Moon

Blue Origin's next New Shepard mission (NS-13) is currently targeting liftoff for Thursday, September 24, at 10:00 am CDT / 15:00 UTC. Current weather conditions are favorable. This will be the 13th New Shepard mission and the 7th consecutive flight for this particular vehicle (a record), demonstrating its operational reusability.

New Shepard will fly 12 commercial payloads to space and back on this mission, including the Deorbit, Descent, and Landing Sensor Demonstration with NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate under a Tipping Point partnership. This is the first payload to fly mounted on the exterior of a New Shepard booster rather than inside the capsule, opening the door to a wide range of future high-altitude sensing, sampling, and exposure payloads.

The lunar landing sensor demo will test precision landing technologies for future missions to the Moon in support of the Artemis program. The experiment will verify how these technologies (sensors, computers, and algorithms) work together to determine a spacecraft's location and speed as it approaches the Moon, enabling a vehicle to land autonomously on the lunar surface within 100 meters of a designated point. The technologies could allow future missions—both crewed and robotic—to target landing sites that weren't possible during the Apollo missions, such as regions with varied terrain near craters. Achieving high accuracy landing will enable long-term lunar exploration and future Mars missions.

This is the first of two flights to test these lunar landing technologies, increasing confidence for successful missions in the Artemis program. NS-13 is part of the risk reduction process to test these types of sensors for future missions.

As a part of NASA's Artemis Human Landing System program, Blue Origin is also leading the National Team, comprised of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper, to develop a Human Landing System to return Americans to the lunar surface. The technology for the Blue Origin Descent Element that takes astronauts to the lunar surface is derived from the autonomous landing capabilities developed for the New Shepard program.

Above: New Shepard booster undergoing integration and testing of the sensor experiment at Blue Origin's West Texas Launch Site.

New Shepard has flown more than 100 payloads to space across 10 sequential flights. Payloads on board NS-13 include experiments from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute, NASA Flight Opportunities, Space Lab Technologies, University of Florida, Space Environment Technologies, and mu Space Corp. A selection of the manifested payloads can be found below.

Also on board will be tens of thousands of postcards from Blue Origin's nonprofit, Club for the Future, some of which will include a special NASA Artemis stamp.

Highlights of the manifested payloads flying on NS-13:

• Space Lab Technologies: µG-LilyPond is an autonomous plant growth system for use in microgravity. The ultimate goal is to produce highly nutritious, aquatic plants to supplement a crew's diet. During this flight, the µG-LilyPond payload will demonstrate thin film hydroponics (growth of plants without soil) using passive capillary flow. The payload was developed by Space Lab Technologies in collaboration with the University of Colorado at Boulder. NASA's Small Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program provided funding for payload development and flight aboard New Shepard.

• Southwest Research Institute: SwRI will fly two payloads, BORE II and LAD-2. BORE II will test a novel system for sampling regolith and anchoring to asteroids and other low-gravity destinations. The goal of this system is to advance exploration and support in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The LAD-2 payload will demonstrate how liquid and gas interface in microgravity. Applications include cryogenic propellant storage and management for in-space propulsion systems. Both payload flights were funded by NASA's Flight Opportunities program.

• NASA: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, in collaboration with the University of Maryland, will re-fly the FBMC (Flow Boiling in Microgap Coolers) payload.This award-winning payload demonstrates an embedded cooling technology for power-dense spacecraft electronics that operate in a range of gravity environments. NASA's Flight Opportunities program funded the payload flight test.

posted 09-22-2020 09:59 AM               

NASA Tipping Point Partnership with Blue Origin to Test Precision Lunar Landing Technologies

From the rim of Shackleton crater to permanently shadowed regions on the Moon, a NASA-developed sensor suite could allow robotic and crewed missions to land precisely on the lunar surface within an area about half the size of a football field.

Technologies to enable exact and soft landings on the Moon and other worlds will fly on Blue Origin's next New Shepard suborbital rocket launch, currently targeted for 11:00 a.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 24.

The rocket's flight path is relevant to lunar landings, providing a unique opportunity to mature sensors and algorithms for potential use on Artemis missions.

"This public-private partnership is a great example of NASA and industry working together on common goals – to explore more of the Moon and eventually land humans on Mars," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). STMD selected Blue Origin for a Tipping Point award in 2018 to help increase access to planetary surfaces.

Sensors and specialized software are fundamental to NASA's Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) technology suite. This flight test, the first of two under the Tipping Point partnership, will demonstrate the performance of two NASA-developed precision landing sensor systems, advanced algorithms, and a new computer.

The rocket launch won't be the first for some SPLICE components – NASA's Flight Opportunities program based at the agency's Armstrong Research Center in Edwards, California, enabled tests on other commercial platforms. But this is the first integrated test for the computer with two of the three SPLICE sensor systems. So, before the technologies make their way to the Moon or elsewhere in the solar system, NASA is taking advantage of another proven testing platform.

Above: NASA's SPLICE descent and landing computer (foreground) and navigation Doppler lidar engineering test unit (background) undergo preparations for a suborbital flight test. (Blue Origin)

Leading up to the New Shepard launch (NS-13), Blue Origin installed the sensors onto the upper portion of the reusable rocket booster and integrated the custom SPLICE descent and landing computer and remaining hardware into the booster. During the approximately 12-minute venture from Earth to space and back to Earth, SPLICE will collect data on the range of operations for each component to help the team better understand how the elements work together and on the same timetable during a lunar-relevant descent and landing.

"Testing SPLICE technologies on a suborbital rocket expands the envelope beyond previous lab tests, helicopter field tests, and lower-altitude suborbital rocket tests," explained John Carson, technical integration manager for precision landing based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We will get more data about the system to anchor analyses and models and support follow-on adjustments, testing, and development."

Segments of the rocket's flight profile mimic a spacecraft landing on the Moon. New Shepard will lift off toward space and reach an altitude of approximately 62 miles (100 kilometers). The SPLICE hardware will briefly experience what it is like to operate in microgravity and the vacuum of space. Next, the capsule – carrying other cargo, including eight Flight Opportunities payloads and tens of thousands of postcards from Blue Origin's nonprofit Club for the Future created by Artemis Generation students – will separate from the booster and fly free in space. The rocket booster will descend vertically back to Earth. The two NASA sensor systems, a computer, and supporting software will get to work during the controlled descent.

The first sensor system is for terrain relative navigation that incorporates software developed by Draper of Cambridge, Massachusetts. This system kicks off an emulated landing sequence on New Shepard. Terrain relative navigation uses two proven sensors mounted to the rocket – an inertial measurement unit and a camera. The software uses real-time information from the camera, its "eyes," to make comparisons with pre-loaded surface maps to determine the rocket's exact location. The technology, which is akin to the system NASA's Perseverance rover will use to land on Mars in February 2021, could land spacecraft precisely on another world.

Above: Langley engineers Aram Gragossian, left, and Jacob Follman, right, configure the electronics within a navigation Doppler lidar engineering test unit. (NASA/David C. Bowman)

The second sensor system to fire up during the flight test is a navigation Doppler lidar, developed at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The new sensor uses a laser to enable precise soft landings on the Moon and Mars. Navigation Doppler lidar sends laser beams to the surface and detects the reflected returns to determine the lander's velocity and altitude. The data from this test will let the team model how it will function during lunar landing and how it is affected by a planet's atmosphere – in this case, Earth's.

"The sensor data is all processed via the descent and landing computer," explained Carson. "Lots of other software runs in the background, integrating the different systems, figuring out what needs to run next, and, for this test, synchronizing timing with the Blue Origin flight computer. It's all crucial so the system can run autonomously and provide us with data that we can analyze post-flight."

While it won't fly on this flight, a third SPLICE sensor system called hazard detection lidar scans a surface to create a 3D map of the landing field. This data allows the SPLICE computer and software to identify challenging terrain and determine a safe landing location for a robotic or human mission to touch down.

"Precision landing is critical for a sustainable lunar future that builds a lunar base with successive missions," said Brent Sherwood, vice president of Advanced Development Programs, Blue Origin. "On New Shepard together with NASA, we are demonstrating in flight the capabilities America can use to conduct lunar exploration."

NASA designed the elements to work together or separately. One or all of the capabilities could be integrated into a spacecraft, depending on the destination and mission requirements.

"We develop and test new technologies so that NASA and industry can use variations of them based on the mission need," said Game Changing Development Program Executive Niki Werkheiser. The program manages SPLICE's technology development. "Since a one-size-fits-all solution for landing on other worlds isn't feasible, we are bringing about flexible, next-generation capabilities that NASA and our partners can apply to a variety of missions."

NASA's navigation Doppler lidar system will fly on two commercial robotic lunar landers targeted for flights in 2021. SPLICE technologies could also be considered for use to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon under NASA's Artemis program as well as for future Mars sample return missions.

posted 09-24-2020 08:49 AM               

The Tipping Point experiment today requires clear weather to gather usable data. We've delayed launch until 11:40 AM CDT / 16:40 UTC to allow for the cloud cover to clear in West Texas.

posted 09-24-2020 11:11 AM               

We've detected a potential issue with the power supply to the experiments. Launch is scrubbed for today. New launch target forthcoming.

posted 09-24-2020 07:52 PM               

New Shepard NS-13 mission with NASA Tipping Point experiment is now slated for launch at 10:00 AM CDT / 15:00 UTC tomorrow, Sept. 25.

posted 09-25-2020 07:26 AM               

New Shepard NS-13 launch is a no go for today [Sept. 25]. We are working to verify a fix on a technical issue and taking an extra look before we fly. New launch target forthcoming.

posted 10-13-2020 08:12 AM               

We're go for launch this morning (Oct. 13) at 8:35 AM CDT / 13:35 UTC.

posted 10-13-2020 08:52 AM               

Congrats to the Blue Origin team for another successful launch.

Booster touchdown! This is the 7th consecutive successful flight to space and back for this fully reusable rocket, and a beautiful demonstration of moon landing tech with NASA.

The New Shepard crew capsule has successfully touched down in the West Texas desert. We are headed out to retrieve customer payloads and Club for the Future postcards.

• Crew capsule apogee: 351,200 feet
  
• Maximum ascent velocity: 2,232 mph
  
• Mission start time: 8:36 a.m. CDT
  
• Mission elapsed time: 10:15 minutes

posted 10-13-2020 10:14 AM               

New Shepard Successfully Completes Mission with NASA Precision Lunar Landing Technology Onboard

Blue Origin successfully completed the 13th New Shepard mission to space and back, and the 7th consecutive flight for this particular vehicle, a record.

Above: New Shepard landing on the pad in West Texas on October 13, 2020, with the NASA Lunar Landing Sensor Demo onboard.

There were 12 payloads onboard including the Deorbit, Descent, and Landing Sensor Demonstration under the NASA Tipping Point partnership. The lunar landing sensor demo was the first payload to be mounted on the exterior of a New Shepard booster and tested technology designed to achieve high accuracy landing. This will enable long-term lunar exploration, as well as future Mars missions.

"Today's flight was inspiring. Using New Shepard to simulate landing on the Moon is an exciting precursor to what the Artemis program will bring to America," said Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin. "Thanks to NASA for partnering with us, and congrats to the Blue Origin team on taking another step toward returning to the Moon to stay."

Key Mission Stats

• 7th consecutive successful flight to space and back for this New Shepard vehicle (a record – previous booster completed 5 consecutive successful flights before retirement).

• 13th consecutive successful crew capsule landing (every flight in program).

• The crew capsule reached an apogee of 346,964 ft above ground level (AGL) / 350,611 ft mean sea level (MSL) (105 km AGL / 106 km MSL).

• The booster reached an apogee of 346,563 ft AGL / 350,210 ft MSL (105 km AGL / 106 km MSL).

• The mission elapsed time was 10 min 9 sec and the max ascent velocity was 2,232 mph / 3,592 km/h.

• The mission carried tens of thousands of postcards from Blue Origin's nonprofit, Club for the Future, some of which include a NASA Artemis stamp.