Space tourism company Blue Origin has set its sights on a New Shepard rocket launch window starting at 9:30 a.m. ET tomorrow, its first attempt since the rocket booster launch failed in September 2022. The company said its New Shepard rocket will launch from Launch Complex 1 in West Texas. Blue Origin will livestream the launch on its website 20 minutes before the countdown.
This will be the 24th launch of the reusable New Shepard rocket, carrying 33 science payloads. Most of Blue Origin's launches have not been crewed, and only six have crewed, including William Shatner. Last year, Blue Origin's unmanned NS-23 launch failed, triggering an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The FAA reported in September that the "proximate cause" of the failure was damage to the engine nozzle due to "higher than expected engine operating temperatures," but that the debris was contained within the "designated hazard area." The agency proposed 21 corrective measures to the company to prevent the same failure from happening again, "including the redesign of engine and nozzle components" and organizational restructuring.
The rocket will also carry 38,000 postcards sent by students participating in Blue Origin's Future Club program that promotes STEM education. The Future Club accepts physical postcards for New Shepard missions, but the club also sends a hard drive filled with digital creations.