posted 04-27-2018 09:39 AM               

Launch preparations are underway for New Shepard's 8th test flight, as we continue our progress toward human spaceflight. We are currently targeting launch on Sunday, April 29th – with the launch window opening up at 8:30 a.m. CDT [1330 GMT].

Livestream will be available on BlueOrigin.com, more info to come.

posted 04-28-2018 12:32 PM               

Payload Customers On New Shepard's 8th Test Flight

Mission 8 welcomes our second round of commercial payloads on board New Shepard for in-space science and technology demonstrations. These payloads represent a range of users, from NASA's Johnson Space Center to a small commercial communications firm, as well as our first European customers, funded by the German national space agency, DLR. Each of the payloads has been outfitted with a custom Blue Origin Payload Locker to provide structural, power, and data interfaces throughout the flight.

Below are some of the payload customers that are flying with us on Mission 8:

• Suborbital Flight Experiment Monitor-2 (SFEM-2)
  NASA Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas)

  NASA's Suborbital Flight Experiment Monitor-2, or SFEM-2, was designed to characterize payload test environments in support of the NASA Flight Opportunities program and other payload initiatives. The sensor suite collects cabin environmental data (CO2, pressure, acceleration, acoustics) and also tests components for future flights on NASA's Orion capsule.

• Schmitt Space Communicator (SC-1x)
  Solstar (Santa Fe, NM), developed with private funding

  The Schmitt Space Communicator, named after Solstar advisor and Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, is a technology demo to test the concept of providing commercial Wi-Fi access to in-space users. This flight test is being conducted with support from NASA's Flight Opportunities Program.

• Daphnia
  University of Bayreuth with ZARM (The Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity at the University of Bremen) and funding from German space agency, DLR

  The Daphnia experiment investigates the effects of microgravity on gene expression and the cytoskeleton of daphnia water fleas. This small invertebrate species is popular in design of future bioregenerative life support systems for human space exploration.

• EQUIPAGE
  Otto von Guericke University (Magdeburg, Germany) with ZARM (The Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity at the University of Bremen) and funding from German space agency, DLR

  EQUIPAGE studies the motion of macroscopic rod shaped grains to validate physics models of these systems under microgravity conditions. Such "granular gases" allow researchers to study a unique state far from equilibrium and not possible in normal Earth environments.

• EUPHORIE
  University of Duisburg-Essen with ZARM (The Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity at the University of Bremen) and funding from German space agency, DLR

  EUPHORIE uses a laser to examine the phenomenon of photophoresis, the interaction of light on solid particles suspended in a gas. As the laser heats one side of such particles, it warms nearby gas molecules and accelerates the particle towards its cooler side. This research has applications to the study of early solar system evolution and meteorite formation.

posted 04-28-2018 04:57 PM               

Current liftoff target for New Shepard’s 8th test flight is 8:45 a.m. CDT tomorrow, April 29. Livestream starts at T-15 minutes on blueorigin.com.

Mannequin Skywalker is ready for his second mission on board New Shepard. He's a little sensitive about being called a "dummy," as he will be conducting astronaut telemetry and science studies — a very important job!

posted 04-29-2018 08:26 AM               

Thunderstorms earlier this morning in West Texas. New liftoff target is 10:15 a.m. CDT, 15:15 UTC for New Shepard’s 8th test flight.

posted 04-29-2018 09:52 AM               

Mission 8 liftoff target now NET 11:13 a.m. CDT, 16:13 UTC.

posted 04-29-2018 12:15 PM               

The New Shepard rocket returned safely to a landing, followed by the crew capsule, completing the 10-minute, 19-second suborbital flight.

Update from Jeff Bezos on Twitter:

Apogee of 351,000 feet (66 miles, 107 kilometers), and that's the altitude we've been targeting for operations. One step closer.

posted 04-29-2018 04:59 PM               

The lucky boots worked again. Huge kudos and thanks to the entire Blue Origin team. Gradatim Ferociter.

posted 04-29-2018 08:36 PM               

Highlights from today's mission. Don't miss the Nerf ball doing a few backflips in zero gravity.