Used Rocket Is A New Breakthrough For Blue Origin’s Space Plan

Blue Origin’s New Shepard became the first fully reusable rocket when it successfully returned to its launchpad after liftoff, the space technology company announced Tuesday morning.

Reusing rockets, rather than discarding them, would be a big step towards making space flight less expensive.

To Bezos’ credit, New Shepard now holds the record as the suborbital reusable rocket that has traveled the highest and vertically landed in one piece.

Another U.S. space company, SpaceX, which was started by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been testing vertical rocket landings as well, but so far its attempts have been unsuccessful.

New Shepard space vehicle is said to have the capability of carrying up to 6 crew members and can operate completely autonomously. On each test flight the rockets have tipped over when attempting a platform landing.

Meanwhile, the booster descended under guided flight to the landing pad.

“When you lower the cost of access to space very significantly you will change the markets, you will change what’s possible”, Mr Bezos said.

He posted a video with the message: “The rarest of beasts – a used rocket”. The team designed the rocket to fire its engines during its landing to slow its descent and avoid a crash.

The video illustrates a major feat: showcasing the first rocket to ever launch into space and then land back on Earth without being either damaged or destroyed. Blue Origins does plan to open its space flights up to the public soon, and ticketing information is now available at their website.

Most of us who follow spaceflight know SpaceX has tried multiple times to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket. New Shepard isn’t quite there-yet.

It went 60 miles above Earth, before slowly falling back down again – reigniting its engines around a mile above the surface for a controlled landing.

But SpaceX founder Elon Musk was gracious on Twitter, regarding Blue Origin’s achievement.