First Test Of Crew Capsule 2.0 Deemed Successful In All Respects

Blue Origin's New Shepard made its seventh test flight Tuesday afternoon at the company's launch site in west Texas. The mission included the first test of Crew Capsule 2.0, and carried 12 commercial, research and education payloads.

According to data provided by Blue Origin, the launch took place at 1059 CDT and lasted just over 10 minutes. The booster reached an apogee of 322,032 feet AGL, while the capsule continued to an apogee of 322,405 feet AGL.

Other statistics from the flight include:

- Maximum ascent velocity: Mach 2.94
- Booster maximum descent velocity: Mach 3.74
- Booster re-ignition: 3,716 feet (AGL)
- Controlled vertical landing of Booster: 6.75 mph
- Deployment of Crew Capsule 2.0 drogue parachutes: 6,463 feet (AGL)
- Landing of Crew Capsule 2.0 under parachutes: 11:10 a.m. CST
- Total mission elapsed time: 10 minutes and 6 seconds

“Today’s flight of New Shepard was a tremendous success. It marks the inaugural flight of our next-generation Crew Capsule as we continue step-by-step progress in our test flight program,” said Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin. “Congratulations to the entire Blue Origin team on a job well done and to our payload customers that gathered important data on the suborbital environment. Gradatim Ferociter.”

In a Tweet, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said "#NewShepard had a successful first flight of Crew Capsule 2.0 today. Complete with windows and our instrumented test dummy. He had a great ride."

With this successful test, Blue Origin appears to be on track to carry its first passengers on a suborbital flight as early as next year, but there are additional test flights to be conducted that can become a reality, and the company is not yet taking reservations for seats aboard the Crew Capsule 2.0.

(Images provided by Blue Origin)

FMI: www.blueorigin.com