WATCH: Blue Origin Launches 6 People into Suborbital Space Today from Texas

The suborbital mission took off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One on Aug. 4 at 8:57 a.m. CDT (13:57 UTC) near the city of Van Horn, Texas.

Rocket’s crew included Dude Perfect co-founder and comedian Coby Cotton, entrepreneur Mario Ferreira, explorer and retired financial manager Vanessa O’Brien, retired US military manager Clint Kelly, engineer and researcher Sarah Sabri and former telecommunications contractor Steve Young. . ,

Setting a milestone, Sara Sabri became the first Egyptian cosmonaut, and Mario Ferreira became the first Portuguese cosmonaut on NS-22. Colby Cotton, co-founder of the Dude Perfect YouTube channel, was chosen for this mission by an online vote.

Watch the launch of the New Shepard NS-22 rocket

The area around Launch Site One, also known as Korn Ranch, is located near Blue Origin’s test site for their BE-4 engines, which are used by United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket and Blue Origin’s New Glenn. The rocket will power both.

Apart from this mission, the twenty-second flight for both Blue Origin and the launch vehicle, it is also the third mission for Blue Origin this year.

Blue Origin used the Reusable Space Ship (RSS) First Stage Capsule with the NS4 First Stage Booster for the NS-22 mission. The booster of the launch vehicle is also called the propulsion module.

Both the RSS first step and booster (NS4) first flew into space during the NS-14 mission in early 2021. RSS First Step is the same spacecraft that flew on Blue Origin’s first crewed flight, NS-16, which was launched on July 20. 2021.

launch and landing

NASA shared complete information from launch to landing of NS-22 rocket.

Prior to launch, the crew was propelled to launch Site One in Rivian trucks. Upon arrival, they climbed the launch tower and were assisted in the first stage spacecraft of the RSS.

On T-0, a single BE-3 engine on New Shepard’s main booster ignited. BE-3 runs on liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2). The engine operates in a combustion tap-off cycle.

The BE-3 subsequently spooled up, and the launch vehicle lifted off from Launch Site One at approximately T+7 seconds.

About 57 seconds after launch, New Shepard passed through an area of ​​maximum dynamic pressure, also known as Max-Q. During this the BE-3 engine throttled down. At this time, the launch vehicle was at an altitude of about 21,400 feet.

The capsule was fitted with an abort system driven by a single solid rocket motor known as the Crew Capsule Escape Solid Rocket Motor (CCE SRM) which was manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne.

About two minutes and 20 seconds after launch, the single BE-3 engine shut down—a milestone known as the Main Engine Cut Off (MECO). New Shepard was located at an altitude of about 182,700 feet, and it continued to climb.

The capsule and New Shepard Propulsion Module then separated about 20 seconds later. Around the same time, space tourists on board began experiencing a zero-gravity (zero-g) environment. At this point, the crew was at an altitude of about 262,400 feet.

The capsule then crossed the Karman Line, which is located at an altitude of 330,000 feet, 100 kilometers, or 62 miles. The line was named after the Hungarian-American engineer, Theodor von Karmann, and is commonly used to divide aeronautics and astronautics.

Once the spacecraft had moved above 100 km, the crew met most definitions of becoming an astronaut.

The RSS First Step, with the crew inside, then reached its climax – the maximum altitude during the flight – about four minutes into the flight. The height of the apogee should be about 351,100 feet. The capsule and propulsion module then began to descend back to Earth.

About four minutes and 50 seconds into the flight, the crew of six space tourists were given a minute’s warning to return to their seats for the rest of the descent. About a minute later, the crew was back in their seats before the end of the zero-G portion of the flight.

Both the capsule and the propulsion module then entered the atmosphere. About five minutes and 40 seconds into the flight, the aerodynamic fins on top of the propulsion module deployed to guide the booster into the densest part of the atmosphere.

Approximately T+6 minutes and 40 seconds into flight, the drag brakes were also deployed on top of the propulsion module as the vehicle passed through an altitude of approximately 14,500 feet.

Soon after, sonic booms were heard around the landing site in South Texas, marking the booster’s arrival.

The single BE-3 engine ignited once again to slow the vehicle, and the landing legs were later deployed. The vehicle rapidly landed on the north landing pad in approximately T+7 minutes and 20 seconds.

About a minute later, a drug chute was deployed on the capsule, which slowed the vehicle. This was followed by the deployment of three main parachutes. At this time, the vehicle was at an altitude of about 3,000 feet.

The capsule then fired retro rockets (similar to the Russian Soyuz) and later touched down in West Texas about 10 minutes after launch. Soon after, the crew was evacuated from the RSS First Step.

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