Space tourism has been getting a lot of attention lately, but a recent mishap was a reminder of what can go wrong.
On Monday, Jeff Bezos‘s Blue Origin launched an uncrewed New Shepard rocket that experienced a booster failure, per the aerospace company, triggering an emergency landing for its capsule carrying three dozen experiments.
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There were no people aboard the flight, which departed from Blue Origin’s launch site in West Texas. But several celebrities, including William Shatner, Michael Strahan and Bezos himself have journeyed to the edge of space on New Shepard vehicles of the same design, The New York Times reported.
Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight. Escape system performed as designed. pic.twitter.com/xFDsUMONTh
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) September 12, 2022
The incident occurred one minute and four seconds after takeoff, at the point where the vehicle experiences “forces of maximum atmospheric pressure.” A yellow flame burst from the booster’s engine, and as the booster pitched, the emergency escape system sent the capsule to safety.
The rocket reached 37,000 feet, or approximately seven miles — well below the 60-plus miles typically reached.
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The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate, grounding Blue Origin flights until it concludes “whether any system, process or procedure related to the mishap affected public safety.”
