posted 12-08-2019 06:20 PM               

New Shepard Targeting Next Launch

Blue Origin's next New Shepard mission (NS-12) is currently targeting liftoff tomorrow, December 10th at 8:30 am CST / 14:30 UCT. Current weather conditions aren't as favorable as we'd like, but we're continuing to keep an eye on the forecast.

As we move towards verifying New Shepard for human spaceflight we are continuing to mature the safety and reliability of the vehicle.

It's the 6th flight for this particular New Shepard vehicle, marking the first time a Blue Origin booster has made this many consecutive flights (the previous booster flew five times consecutively) - all with minimal refurbishment between flights. This particular rocket has been an operational payload vehicle for several flights, meaning there are no more updates to the system.

This will also be the 9th commercial payload mission for New Shepard, and we are proud to be flying our 100th customer on board.

Also on the vehicle are thousands of postcards from students around the world for our nonprofit Club for the Future. The Club's mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and help visualize the future of life in space.

You can watch the launch live – the pre-show begins T-30 where Blue will provide more mission details and updates.

New Shepard Mission NS-12 Notable Payloads Manifested:

• OK Go
  Earlier this year we partnered with rock band OK Go on a contest called Art in Space, giving high school and middle school students a chance to send art experiments into space on our New Shepard vehicle. We are sending the two winning art projects on NS-12.

• Columbia University
  One of our educational payloads from Columbia University, designed and built by undergraduate students and advised by Dr. Michael Massimino (an astronaut), will study the acute impacts of microgravity environments on cell biology. This is crucial for humans living and working in space.

• OSCAR
  OSCAR, which was led by principal investigator Dr. Annie Meier, is a recycling technology payload from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It is designed to create a mixture of gasses that could be used for propulsion or life support from common waste on a deep space human exploration mission. This is Blue's first full-stack payload, meaning there will be more room to do complex studies in flight.

posted 12-10-2019 07:35 AM               

We've rolled the New Shepard vehicle out to the pad for launch. Due to weather in the area, our new target launch time is 10:30 a.m. CST/16:30 UTC.

posted 12-10-2019 09:41 AM               

We are scrubbing today's New Shepard launch due to weather conditions. Our next launch attempt will be tomorrow morning, Wednesday, Dec. 11.

We are now planning our next launch attempt for New Shepard tomorrow, Wednedsday, Dec. 11 at 9:00 a.m. CST/15:00 UTC.

posted 12-11-2019 10:35 AM               

We are a go for launch! Liftoff is now at 11:43 am CST/17:43 UTC.

posted 12-11-2019 12:45 PM               

Blue Origin sends kids' postcards to space on New Shepard launch

A commercial rocket's brief trip to space and back has given new meaning to the popular postcard slogan, "Wish you were here!"

Blue Origin, the private spaceflight company founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, launched a New Shepard rocket on a suborbital mission on Wednesday (Dec. 11), flying in part thousands of children's postcards in place of the passengers planned for future flights. The rocket mail was part of an educational project organized by Blue Origin's non-profit organization, Club for the Future.