Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, successfully launched a recycled rocket carrying a crew capsule from western Texas on Sunday.
The reusable rocket, called the RSS H.G. Wells, reached its highest altitude yet, with Bezos tweeting that it had reached 351,000 feet. It was also the first Blue Origin New Shepard rocket to test out whether acrylic windows could withstand entry into space, CNET reported.
Apogee of 351,000 feet (66 miles, 107 kilometers), and that’s the altitude we’ve been targeting for operations. One step closer. #GradatimFerociter @BlueOrigin
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 29, 2018
The crew capsule was not manned by humans, instead carrying a test dummy dubbed “Mannequin Skywalker.”
Touchdown of the New Shepard Booster and Crew Capsule! Congrats to Team Blue and our payload customers on board today!
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 29, 2018
Sunday’s rocket launch marks the eighth time the Amazon billionaire’s space startup has successfully pulled off testing the system. Blue Origin’s goal is to one day send paying customers on suborbital flights into space.
Blue Origin is working on developing “groundbreaking spaceflight systems” and describes the New Shepard system as “a fully reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) space vehicle.”
The RSS H.G. Wells flew for the first time in December, and Blue Origin hopes to send human passengers into space as soon as in a few months’ time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuKGJRmIjGU&w=600&h=337
Ariane Cornell, Blue Origin’s webcast host for the historic event, called it “another spectacular test mission.”
