Blue Origin completes vertical rocket landing

The private space company, founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is working towards commercial space flight. Having a reusable rocket is key to making that economically viable, and Bezos sees this mission as an important step towards Blue Origin’s first manned flight.

“Now safely tucked away at our launch site in West Texas is the rarest of beasts—a used rocket,” he said. “Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard space vehicle flew a flawless mission—soaring to 329,839 feet and then returning through 119-mph high-altitude crosswinds to make a gentle, controlled landing just four and a half feet from the centre of the pad. Full reuse is a game changer, and we can’t wait to fuel up and fly again.”

Named after US astronaut Alan Shephard, the vehicle consists of a crew capsule that sits on top of a 60-foot rocket, powered by a single American-made BE-3 liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen engine. The BE-3 provides 110,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff, with passengers experiencing forces upwards of 3 Gs for 150 seconds on ascent.