Blue Origin first to successfully land reusable rocket, beating SpaceX

Bezos has explained that the rocket “flew a flawless mission – soaring to 329,839 feet and then returning through 199-mph high-altitude crosswinds to make a gentle, controlled landing just four-and-a-half feet from the center of the pad”. That’s just above the internationally accepted 100-kilometer boundary of outer space.

Blue Origin announced November 24 that it launched its New Shepard suborbital vehicle on a second test flight, flying to the edge of space and successfully landing both sections of the vehicle.

“Full reuse is a game changer, and we can’t wait to fuel up and fly again”, Bezos added.

“You can imagine how expensive your ticket would be”, he said.

A test flight in April saw the recovery of the craft’s crew capsule, but not its rocket booster. The company’s mission statement is to provide humans with greater access to space travel so mankind can continue exploring the solar system. The rockets have toppled over while attempting to land on a platform in the ocean. Blue Origin astronauts will experience the thrill of launch atop a rocket, the freedom of weightlessness, and views through the largest windows to ever fly in space.

The company said New Shepard performed the flight shortly before noon on Monday. It’s secondary school physics, and it’s what proves that Blue Origin’s recent suborbital flight and controlled landing is a success. It’s an event of such magnitude, Bezos tweeted for the first time.

Getting to space needs ~Mach 3, but GTO orbit requires ~Mach 30.

“Rockets have always been expendable”.

“What SpaceX is trying to do is very similar”, he said.

Perched atop the BE-3 is the New Shepard capsule where in the future astronauts and cargo will sit.

After that, it was time for the crew to watch as the rocket came plummeting back to Earth. The rocket navigated its way to 5,000 feet above the landing pad, then the engine reignited, the landing gear deployed and slowed down to 4.4 miles per hour before touching down. It is also developing the BE-4 for its orbital booster and potentially United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan booster, which ULA hopes will replace its Atlas V rocket powered by Russian main engines. The capsule, in which any passengers to space would be placed, landed separately by parachute.