Blue Origin's New Shepard launch system experienced an abnormality on Monday.
The New Shepard capsule's solid rocket motor-powered escape system suddenly fired, freeing the capsule from the rocket. It happened within a minute and a half after the launch.
It appeared that the rocket's flight terminated system was activated, but Blue Origin didn't explain the problem. After the rocket had passed through max Q, the point at which the vehicle faces maximum dynamic pressure during ascent, it was time for the engine to stop. There was fire from the rocket's engine and the escape motor on the spaceship.
This was the ninth flight of the booster that is part of the launch system. The emergency escape system worked as it was supposed to. Had a crew been on board this flight, they would have experienced a large amount of force before landing in the Texas desert.
AdvertisementThe company's highest value is safety, according to the senior director for Emerging Space Markets. We built a lot of redundant into the system.
Since its debut flight, the New Shepard program has had a few anomalies. The mission saw a small flight and a safe landing. The booster made a crash landing. Blue Origin has accomplished 20 successful flights and landings in a row.
The first spaceflight that carried Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is included. The company had already completed three human spaceflights this year, with three more planned before the end of the year.
There are different but similar spaceships designated by Blue Origin to fly. On Monday, the RSS H.G. Wells made a flight. The RSS First Step is a newer version of the spaceship used for humans.
Booster 1 was lost during the April 2015 flight. In October 2016 Booster 2 was retired after a successful test of the launch escape system. The company's oldest operational rocket was Booster 3 and it was launched in December of last year. The company only uses its newest rocket for human launches. It has some modifications that make it a human-rated rocket.
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