Manned flights are closer than ever

Airline Blue Origin de Jeff Bezos It carried out a successful new suborbital launch of its New Shepard missile. Flight No. 15 and they tested, along with the reusable rocket to the capsule for the astronauts. Yes good There were no astronauts on board, and they indicate that there will be soon.

The New Shepherd missile blasted off at 12:49 PM ET from Van Horn, Texas, USA. After successful take off, It rose about 100 kilometers into the atmosphere. This is when the capsule detached and the missile returned to the surface of the Earth, landed on its feet and reused.

What about the capsule? It had a special mannequin inside To observe the conditions in which a human is inside the capsule. Since the disengagement he has suffered from weightlessness for a few minutes before falling again to the ground. In order to land, the capsule deployed three massive parachutes that slowed its descent before landing again in Texas.

Ready to send astronauts into space

The NS-15 missionThis is the name given to this test “A verification step for spacecraft and operations before astronauts fly,” according to Blue Origin. The company even implemented pre-takeoff procedures with astronauts, such as inserting the capsule and testing the communications system. Of course, they left the capsule 15 minutes before take off.

Jeff Bezos’ space company did not want to indicate when the first flight with humans would take place. however, They ensure the arrival of the manned flight soon. The company was founded in 2000 and after two decades of progress they are on the verge of making their first manned flight. There is no rush either.

Meanwhile, SpaceX, its main competitor, has already taken astronauts into space It is working closely with NASA to use its Crew Dragon capsule as transportation to the International Space Station. Blue Origin is focused on the moon, and it remains to be seen whether or not it arrives before SpaceX.

Via | CNBC