Blue Origin postponed the launch debut of its second human-rated spacecraft today (Oct. 13), nearly a week after technical issues thwarted its first launch attempt.
Jeff Bezos‘ aerospace company hoped to launch its uncrewed NS-27 mission at 9:27a.m. EDT (1327 GMT) on Sunday to send a brand-new New Shepard rocket-capsule combo on a brief trip to suborbital space, but a GPS system issue forced the company to call of the attempt. The delay comes six days after Blue Origin‘s first NS-27 launch on Oct. 7 was called off due to a rocket issue.
“We’re standing down on today’s launch attempt to troubleshoot a GPS issue,” Blue Origin wrote in an update on X (formerly Twitter). “New launch target forthcoming.”
NS-27 will mark the debut of the second human-rated New Shepard vehicle, which consists of a first stage known as Booster 5 and a crew capsule named RSS Kármán Line. (The Kármán line is the 62-mile-high boundary that many people regard as the start of outer space.)
“The vehicle features technology upgrades to improve the vehicle’s performance and reusability, an updated livery and accommodations for payloads on the booster,” Blue Origin wrote in a statement on Oct. 4.
No people will launch aboard NS-27, but the mission will fly 12 research payloads, five of them on the booster and seven inside the capsule. This gear includes new navigation systems developed for New Shepard and Blue Origin’s huge New Glenn rocket, as well as two LIDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors designed to operate in the lunar environment, according to Blue Origin.
As its name suggests, NS-27 will be the 27th New Shepard mission overall. Eight of the vehicle’s 26 flights to date have been crewed, sending up to six people at a time on brief trips to the final frontier.
Those eight crewed flights have all used the same New Shepard vehicle — the Booster 4/RSS First Step combo. This second human-rated spacecraft will enable “expanded flight capacity to better meet growing customer demand,” the company wrote in today’s statement.
Sunday marked a busy day in spaceflight. In addition to Blue Origin’s NS-27 launch, the company’s rival SpaceX launched its Starship Flight 5 test flight of Starship and Super Heavy, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket. That mission included the first-ever Super Heavy booster landing and capture at its launch site.
Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission on the Dragon capsule Endeavour was scheduled to undock from the International Space Station early Sunday to begin the trip home for four astronauts. SpaceX and NASA ultimately delayed the undocking pending better weather at the Dragon’s splashdown site off the coast of Florida.
Source: https://www.space.com/blue-origin-new-shepard-vehicle-debut-ns-27-launch
