Late on Monday night, Beijing time, Blue Origin announced that the launch event originally scheduled for Monday was canceled after delay due to low temperatures at the launch site, ground system failures and other factors, and it would choose another opportunity to launch again this week. Although the launch has not yet been successful, this news also shows that Bezos' rocket launch and space travel company has moved on from the launch failure a year ago and is trying to return to Earth's orbit.



(Source: Social Media)

It is reported that the launch scheduled this week will not carry humans, but will carry more than 30 research and scientific instruments to space, which is quite a bit like "getting up from where you fell."

What happened last time?

The last time Blue Origin launched the "New Shepard" reusable rocket wasIt happened on September 12, 2022. That mission also transported more than 30 experimental instruments to space.

At that time, the rocket successfully lifted off, but about a minute after launch,The rocket suddenly ejected a strange pillar of fire, and then the space capsule started its escape procedure, ignited the failed rocket, and opened its parachute for a successful landing.




It is reported that the launch failure caused no injuries to people on the ground. At the same time, the company said that the scientific equipment and space capsule that escaped safely can continue to be used. However, the faulty rocket body fell back to the ground and was completely damaged.

Before its failure in 2022, "New Shepard" had successfully completed 22 consecutive launches, including 6 manned missions, including sending his boss Bezos to heaven in 2021.

After subsequent investigation,Blue Origin disclosed that the problem occurred in the nozzle of the rocket engine, which experienced higher than expected temperatures during that mission. To solve this problem, Blue Origin modified the design of the rocket nozzle and adjusted operating parameters.

Subsequently, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officially concluded the accident investigation on September 27 and submitted a "corrective request" to Blue Origin that was not made public.

More significant experiments are in the pipeline

If the "New Shepard" rocket can successfully complete a comeback in the near future, it also means that the company is getting closer to a more important test-The first test flight of the reusable New Glenn heavy-lift launch vehicle.


(Example image, source: Blue Origin)

The "New Glenn" rocket uses the BE-4 (BlueEngine4) liquid oxygen methane rocket engine, with a design life of 100 launches and recoveries. It is worth mentioning that the Vulcan launch vehicle of United Launch Company (Lockheed Martin/Boeing joint venture) is also equipped with the same engine.United Launch Company plans to launch the rocket in January next year to send a NASA-sponsored lunar lander to the moon. In addition, the "New Glenn" rocket is also expected to carry a NASA satellite next year to go to Mars to explore the surrounding magnetized space area.

Bezos revealed in an interview last week that he was very nervous about the first launch of the New Glenn rocket. He also said: "Every time I watch the launch of New Shepard and the launch of other aircraft, I am always very nervous."

He also emphasized that for the first launch, if there was no tension, it would be "a sign of insanity."