posted 12-17-2018 01:05 PM               

New Shepard to Fly 9 NASA-sponsored Payloads to Space on NS-10

Blue Origin's next New Shepard mission (NS-10) is currently targeting liftoff tomorrow (Dec. 18, 2018) at 8:30 a.m. CST/14:30 UTC. This will be the 10th New Shepard mission and is dedicated to bringing nine NASA-sponsored research and technology payloads into space through NASA's Flight Opportunities program.

NASA's Flight Opportunities program is an essential program for researchers providing access to microgravity for technology development. Blue supports NASA's Flight Opportunities program and its role in perfecting technology for a future human presence in space.

The payloads flying with us on NS-10 include:

• Carthage College Space Sciences Program: The Modal Propellant Gauging experiment led by Dr. Kevin Crosby is a joint effort with the NASA Kennedy Space Center Cryogenics Laboratory. It demonstrates a way to measure fuel levels in microgravity by using sound waves.
  
  
• Controlled Dynamics Inc.: The Vibration Isolation Platform (VIP) aims to separate payloads from the normally occurring vibrations experienced during spaceflight. The payload led by Dr. Scott Green allows researchers to have a clear understanding of microgravity's effects on their research results.
  
  
• Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab: On its second flight with Blue, the EM Field experiment will observe and collect data on the naturally occurring electromagnetic fields both inside and outside New Shepard during the launch. Principal Investigator Dr. Todd Smith will use success of this experiment to determine how global measurements of the Earth's electromagnetic field can be conducted in the future.
  
  
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: Cooling tightly-packed electronics onboard a spacecraft can be challenging, and many solutions have not been able to undergo robust testing. Principal Investigator Franklin Robinson will test one of these solutions in his Flow Boiling in Microgap Coolers experiment.
  
  
• NASA Johnson Space Center: On its third flight on New Shepard, the Suborbital Flight Experiment Monitor-2 (SFEM-2) led by Dr. Katy Hurlbert will analyze various aspects of the flight environment during New Shepard's mission profile, measuring cabin pressure, temperature, CO2, acoustic conditions, acceleration and more. The data collected will help future researchers on New Shepard design the most effective experiments for the vehicle.
  
  
• Purdue University: Dr. Steven Collicott's payload looks at Zero-Gravity Green Propellant Management Technology, which aims to help advance the use of a safer and more environmentally friendly rocket propellant by better understanding the fuel's behavior in microgravity.
  
  
• University of Central Florida: Two teams led by Dr. Josh Colwell and Dr. Addie Dove both have planetary science payloads on NS-10. The Collisions Into Dust Experiment (COLLIDE) aims to understand how dust particles react after surface contact during exploration missions to places such as the Moon, Mars and asteroids. The Collection of Regolith Experiment (CORE) addresses the unique challenge of collecting and analyzing material samples in microgravity.
  
  
• University of Florida: Dr. Rob Ferl and Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul are adapting technology designed for the ISS to suborbital uses with their experiment, Validating Telemetric Imaging Hardware for Crew-Assisted and Crew-Autonomous Biological Imaging in Suborbital Applications. By recalibrating the way data is collected, the experiment will enable more biological research on suborbital missions.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter for launch day updates and join us at BlueOrigin.com to watch the launch live!

posted 12-18-2018 09:24 AM               

We are scrubbing today's New Shepard launch due to a ground infrastructure issue. The vehicle is in good standing. Stand by for updates as we see what weather looks like for tomorrow.

posted 12-18-2018 07:04 PM               

Still working through ground infrastructure issues and monitoring incoming weather in West Texas. Slating next launch window NET Friday, Dec. 21, pending further review. Stay tuned for updates as we learn more.

posted 12-19-2018 07:25 PM               

Through fixing the ground infrastructure issue, we have determined additional systems need to be addressed. We have changed our target to early 2019 for next launch attempt. Stay tuned for updates.

posted 01-18-2019 04:23 PM               

The next launch attempt for New Shepard NS-10 mission will be Jan 21. We've fixed our ground infrastructure issue and both the vehicle and weather look good. Stay tuned for launch timing.

posted 01-20-2019 02:02 PM               

We have decided to push our New Shepard launch attempt tomorrow. High winds expected in the area and one vehicle open issue. Updated launch target to come tomorrow.

posted 01-21-2019 04:43 PM               

More heavy winds in the forecast for tomorrow, so we are now targeting Wednesday 1/23 for the New Shepard NS-10 launch.

posted 01-22-2019 12:15 PM               

We are go for launch tomorrow. Weather looking good. Targeting liftoff at 8:50 am CST/14:50 UTC. Follow live on BlueOrigin.com.

posted 01-23-2019 08:46 AM               

It's launch day! New Shepard is on the pad and ready for flight today with 8 NASA payloads on board. Current liftoff target is 8:50 am CST/14:50 UTC.

posted 01-23-2019 09:08 AM               

Apogee (unofficial): 350,775 feet (66.4 miles or 106.9 kilometers).

Successful landing of the New Shepard rocket. From Blue Origin on Twitter:

Touchdown of the New Shepard crew capsule! Looks to have been a wholly successful flight today.

posted 01-23-2019 10:56 PM               

A perfect day. New Shepard has now racked up 10 consecutive successful launches, 9 consecutive successful booster landings, 3 consecutive successful escape tests, and 11 consecutive successful crew capsule landings (including a pad escape). Today's mission was the 4th flight of this particular tail number — all with minimal refurbishment between flights. Step by step, we're getting close to human flight. And all of this learning is being incorporated into New Glenn too. I did wear my lucky boots today, but I'm pretty sure it's actually the incredible Blue Origin team.