Blue Origin plans to launch a New Shepard spacecraft today, along with a test dummy called the Mannequin Skywalker. You can watch the action live right here.
The new Shepard NS-14 mission is scheduled to launch at 11:57 AM ET (10:57 AM CT, which is local time) at Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas. Real-time broadcasting will begin approximately 30 minutes before takeoff. You can watch it live below or the Blue Origin website.
This will mark the 14th launch of the New Shepard program, which is now in its seventh year of unmanned flight testing. Finally, the reusable suborbital launch vehicle will take space tourists, around six in flight, beyond the Kármán line – the internationally recognized space boundary.
Looking through the large capsule windows at the future passengers will have a glorious view, lasting about 11 minutes, of our blue planet, at altitudes of 100 km. The new Shepard spacecraft will enter suborbital space and, without entering Earth orbit, return to the surface shortly after launch. The booster will make a vertical landing, while the capsule will use parachutes to make the descent slow.
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However, before this can happen, Blue Origin must certify that the capsule is suitable for humans. The company is very close to achieving this, today’s launch being an important step.
Manikin Skywalker (a play on Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars) traveled into suborbital space before, but the test dummy should notice some new improvements.
The crew capsule has been modified to enhance the passenger experience, including improved acoustics and in-vehicle temperature control, new crew display panels, microphone speakers and a push-to-talk button on each seat, according to Blue Origin, which is owned and run by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and one of the richest people on earth. The capsule was also equipped with six seats, one of which will be occupied by the Mannequin Skywalker.
A key objective of the New Shepard Mission NS-14 will be to test communications and security alert systems. A successful test today could prepare the stage for an effective manned flight, which is not expected until 2022. Blue Origin initially hoped to launch people into space in 2019.
The price of a ticket to suborbital space is not yet known, with appraisal ranging from 50,000 – 250,000 USD per place. SAdly, these adventures in space will not be immediately accessible to those of us in 99%.