On Saturday the team nailed its third launch and landing in five months using the same New Shepard rocket, and it’s just posted a video (above) showing key moments from the mission.
Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos described Saturday’s launch from a site in west Texas as “flawless,” and the crucial landing as “perfect.” The video certainly appears to confirm his description, with the rocket coming down at high speed before the boosters kicked in to slow its descent, allowing New Shepard to gently touch down at just under 5 mph.
The video offers some spectacular footage of the rocket’s journey, including stunning views over the U.S. shot with the rocket’s on-board “horizon camera” from its peak altitude of 339,178 feet (64.2 miles/103 kilometers).
“It was the third flight with the same hardware,” Blue Origin said in notes accompanying the video. “We pushed the envelope on this flight, restarting the engine for the propulsive landing only 3,600 feet above the ground, requiring the BE-3 engine to start fast and ramp to high thrust fast.”
Saturday’s mission carried two microgravity experiments from the Southwest Research Institute and the University of Central Florida.
Similar to SpaceX, Blue Origin aims to create a reliable and reusable rocket system to significantly lower the cost of future space missions.
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