List of New Shepard launches

Short description: None

New Shepard is a vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing (VTVL), crew-rated suborbital launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin as a commercial system for suborbital space tourism.[1] Blue Origin is owned and led by Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos.

The name New Shepard makes reference to the first American astronaut in space, Alan Shepard, one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts, who ascended to space in 1961 on a suborbital trajectory similar to that of New Shepard.[2]

Prototype engine and vehicle flights began in 2006, while full-scale engine development started in the early 2010s and was complete by 2015. Uncrewed flight testing of the complete New Shepard vehicle (propulsion module and space capsule) began in 2015.

On 23 November 2015, after reaching 100.5 km (62.4 mi) altitude (outer space), the suborbital New Shepard booster successfully performed a powered vertical soft landing, the first time a suborbital booster rocket had returned from space to make a successful vertical landing. The test program continued in 2016 and 2017 with four additional test flights made with the same vehicle (NS-2) in 2016 and the first test flight of the new NS-3 vehicle made in 2017.

Blue Origin planned its first crewed test flight to occur in 2018, which was however delayed until 2021, and has since announced that tickets would begin to be sold for commercial flights of up to six people.[3] The first crewed flight took place on 20 July 2021. An anonymous buyer (later revealed to have been Justin Sun) purchased one seat for the 20 July 2021 flight at auction for $28 million[4] but this person did not fly on said flight due to scheduling problems; the anonymous buyer was rescheduled for a later flight. Instead of the auction winning passenger, 18-year-old Oliver Daemen was selected to fly. Daemen's father paid for his flight, thus Daemen was the first customer (i.e., person whose flight has been paid for) passenger of New Shepard and became the youngest person and first teenager to fly into space.

As of 4 August 2022, New Shepard has flown 32 passengers into space (31 first time spaceflight participants).

On 12 September 2022, the RSS H. G. Wells capsule aborted during the NS-23 mission mid-flight due to a propulsion failure.[5]

## Contents

* 1 Launch statistics
* 1.1 Rocket confingurations
* 1.2 Launch outcome
* 1.3 Crewed missions
* 1.4 Crew launched
* 2 Past launches
* 3 See also
* 4 References

## Launch statistics

### Rocket confingurations

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### Launch outcome

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### Crewed missions

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### Crew launched

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## Past launches

Launch  | Date  | Vehicle  | Apogee  | Outcome  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

0  | 19 October 2012  |

* N/A
* RSS Jules Verne

| 0.7 km (0.4369 mi)  | Success  | Pad abort test of the New Shepard crew capsule.
1  | 29 April 2015  |

* NS1
* RSS Jules Verne ♺

| 93.5 km (58.1 mi)  | Partial success  | Flight to altitude 93.5 km, capsule recovered, booster crashed on landing.[6]
2  | 23 November 2015  |

* NS2.1
* RSS Jules Verne ♺

| 100.535 km (62.4695 mi)  | Success  | Sub-orbital spaceflight and landing.[7]
3  | 22 January 2016  |

* NS2.2 ♺
* RSS Jules Verne ♺

| 101.676 km (63.1784 mi)  | Success  | Sub-orbital spaceflight and landing of a reused booster.[8]
4  | 2 April 2016  |

* NS2.3 ♺
* RSS Jules Verne ♺

| 103.381 km (64.2383 mi)[9] | Success  | Sub-orbital spaceflight and landing of a reused booster.[10]
5  | 19 June 2016  |

* NS2.4 ♺
* RSS Jules Verne ♺

| 101.042 km (62.7843 mi)[11] | Success  | Sub-orbital spaceflight and landing of a reused booster: the fourth launch and landing of the same rocket. Blue Origin published a live webcast of the takeoff and landing.[11]
6  | 5 October 2016  |

* NS2.5 ♺
* RSS Jules Verne ♺

* Booster: 93.713 km (58.2307 mi)
* Capsule: 7.092 km (4.4070 mi)[12]

| Success  | Sub-orbital spaceflight and landing of a reused booster. Successful test of the in-flight abort system. The fifth and final launch and landing of the same rocket (NS2).
7  | 12 December 2017  |

* NS3.1
* RSS H. G. Wells

* Booster: 98.155 km (60.9909 mi)
* Capsule: 98.269 km (61.0616 mi)[13]

| Success  | Flight to just under 100 km and landing. The first launch of NS3 and a new Crew Capsule 2.0.[14]
8  | 29 April 2018  |

* NS3.2 ♺
* RSS H. G. Wells ♺

| 107 km (66.5 mi)[15] | Success  | Sub-orbital spaceflight and landing of a reused booster.[16]
9  | 18 July 2018  |

* NS3.3 ♺
* RSS H. G. Wells ♺

| 118.825 km (73.8345 mi)[17] | Success  | Sub-orbital spaceflight and landing of a reused booster, with the Crew Capsule 2.0-1 RSS H.G.Wells, carrying a mannequin. Successful test of the in-flight abort system at high altitude. Flight duration was 11 minutes.[17]
10  | 23 January 2019  |

* NS3.4 ♺
* RSS H. G. Wells ♺

| c. 106.9 km (66.4 mi)  | Success  | Sub-orbital flight, delayed from 18 December 2018. Eight NASA research and technology payloads were flown.[18][19]
11  | 2 May 2019  |

* NS3.5 ♺
* RSS H. G. Wells ♺

| c. 105 km (65.5 mi)[20] | Success  | Sub-orbital flight. Maximum Ascent Velocity: 3,568 km/h (2,217 mph),[20] duration: 10 minutes, 10 seconds. Payload: 38 microgravity research payloads (nine sponsored by NASA).
12  | 11 December 2019  |

* NS3.6 ♺
* RSS H. G. Wells ♺

| c. 104.5 km (64.9 mi)[21] | Success  | Sub-orbital flight, Payload: Multiple commercial, research (8 sponsored by NASA) and educational payloads, including postcards from Club for the Future.[22][23] The sixth launch and landing of the same rocket.[21]
13  | 13 October 2020, 13:37  |

* NS3.7 ♺
* RSS H. G. Wells ♺

| c. 107.0 km (66.52 mi)  | Success  | 7th flight of the same capsule/booster. Onboard 12 payloads include Space Lab Technologies, Southwest Research Institute, postcards and seeds for Club for the Future, and multiple payloads for NASA including SPLICE to test future lunar landing technologies in support of the Artemis program.[24]
14  | 14 January 2021, 16:57[25] |

* NS4.1
* RSS First Step

* Booster: 106.942 km (66.4504 mi)
* Capsule: 107.050 km (66.5180 mi)

| Success  | Uncrewed qualification flight for NS4 rocket and capsule and maiden flight for NS4
15  | 14 April 2021
16:51[26] |

* NS4.2 ♺
* RSS First Step ♺

* Booster: 105.671 km (65.6612 mi)
* Capsule: 106.300 km (66.0517 mi)

| Success  | Second flight of NS4, first preflight human passenger process test where Blue Origin conducted an "Astronaut Rehearsal." Gary Lai, Susan Knapp, Clay Mowry, and Audrey Powers, all Blue Origin personnel, were “stand-in astronauts”. Lai and Powers briefly entered the capsule during the test.[27]
16 | 20 July 2021
13:12[28][29] |

* NS4.3 ♺
* RSS First Step ♺

* Booster: 105.823 km (65.7553 mi)
* Capsule: 107.05 km (66.517 mi)

| Success
17  | 25 August 2021
14:31[30] |

* NS3.8 ♺
* RSS H. G. Wells ♺

* Booster: 105.775 km (65.7258 mi)
* Capsule: 105.898 km (65.8019 mi)

| Success  | Payload mission consisting of 18 commercial payloads inside the crew capsule, a NASA lunar landing technology demonstration installed on the exterior of the booster and an art installation installed on the exterior of the crew capsule.[31]
18 | 13 October 2021
14:49[32] |

* NS4.4 ♺
* RSS First Step ♺

* Booster: 106.926 km (66.4407 mi)
* Capsule: 107.041 km (66.5125 mi)

| Success  | Second crewed New Shepard flight. Crew of four included:[33][34]
* Chris Boshuizen
* Glen de Vries
* William Shatner
* Audrey Powers
19 | 11 December 2021[35] |

* NS4.5 ♺
* RSS First Step ♺

|  | Success  | Third crewed New Shepard flight. Crew of six included:
* Lane Bess
* Cameron Bess
* Evan Dick
* Laura Shepard Churchley
* Michael Strahan
* Dylan Taylor
20 | 31 March 2022
13:57[36] |

* NS4.6 ♺
* RSS First Step ♺

* Booster: 106.964 km (66.4644 mi)
* Capsule: 107.069 km (66.5295 mi)

| Success  | Fourth crewed New Shepard flight. Crew of six included:
* Marty Allen
* Sharon Hagle
* Marc Hagle
* Jim Kitchen
* George Nield
* Gary Lai
21 | 4 June 2022
13:25[37] |

* NS4.7 ♺
* RSS First Step ♺

* Booster: 106.93 km (66.445 mi)
* Capsule: 107.041 km (66.5123 mi)

| Success  | Fifth crewed New Shepard flight. Crew of six included:
* Evan Dick
* Katya Echazarreta
* Hamish Harding
* Victor Correa Hespanha
* Jaison Robinson
* Victor Vescovo

22 | 4 August 2022
13:56[38] |

* NS4.8 ♺
* RSS First Step ♺

* Booster: 106.944 km (66.4519 mi)
* Capsule: 107.056 km (66.5212 mi)

| Success  | Sixth crewed New Shepard flight. Crew of six included:
* Coby Cotton
* Mário Ferreira
* Vanessa O'Brien
* Clint Kelly III
* Sara Sabry
* Steve Young

23  | 12 September 2022
14:27[39] |

* NS3.9 ♺
* RSS H. G. Wells ♺

| 11.400 km (7.0835 mi)[39] | Failure[39] | Uncrewed research mission with 36 commercial payloads on board including two on the exterior of the booster.[40] The spacecraft's launch escape system activated after the booster's BE-3 main engine failed around a minute after liftoff leading to a loss of control. The capsule was safely recovered whilst the booster was lost as it impacted on ground.[41][39]

## See also

* New Glenn
* Engineering:SpaceShipTwo - Former suborbital spaceplane for space tourism
* SpaceX reusable launch system development program
* List of crewed spacecraft
* List of Virgin Galactic launches

## References

1. ↑ Doug Mohney (7 May 2015). "Will Jeff Bezos Speed Past Virgin Galactic to Tourist Space?". TechZone360. http://www.techzone360.com/topics/techzone/articles/2015/05/07/403021-will-jeff-bezos-speed-past-virg-galactic-tourist.htm.
2. ↑ Jonathan Amos (30 April 2015). "Jeff Bezos conducts New Shepard flight". BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32530121.
3. ↑ https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/11/blue-origin-new-glenn-overview-pad-landing-ship-dev/ Chris Bergin, NASASpaceflight.com, 28 November 2018
4. ↑ "$28M is winning bid for seat aboard Blue Origin's 1st human space flight". ABC News. 12 June 2021. https://abcnews.go.com/US/28m-winning-bid-seat-aboard-blue-origins-1st/story?id=78241176.
5. ↑ "Jeff Bezos rocket malfunctions on trip to space". BBC News. 12 September 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62882272.
6. ↑ Harwood, Bill (30 April 2015). "Bezos' Blue Origin completes first test flight of "New Shepard" spacecraft". Spaceflight Now. http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/04/30/bezos-blue-origin-completes-first-test-flight-of-new-shepard-spacecraft/.
7. ↑ Pasztor, Andy (24 November 2015). "Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin Succeeds in Landing Spent Rocket Back on Earth". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/blue-origin-succeeds-in-vertically-landing-spent-rocket-back-at-texas-launch-site-1448372666.
8. ↑ "Launch Land Repeat". https://www.blueorigin.com/news/blog/launch-land-repeat.
9. ↑ April 2016, Calla Cofield 04 (4 April 2016). "Launch Land Repeat Blue Origin's Amazing Rocket Liftoff and Landing in Pictures". https://www.space.com/32457-blue-origin-third-rocket-landing-pictures.html.
10. ↑ Calandrelli, Emily (2 April 2016). "Blue Origin launches and lands the same rocket for a third time". https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/02/blue-origin-launches-and-lands-the-same-rocket-for-a-third-time/.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Boyle, Alan (19 June 2016). "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin live-streams its spaceship's risky test flight". GeekWire. http://www.geekwire.com/2016/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-space-launch/.
12. ↑ "New Shepard In-flight Escape Test". Blue Origin. https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-in-flight-escape-test.
13. ↑ "Crew Capsule 2.0 First Flight". Blue Origin. https://www.blueorigin.com/news/crew-capsule-2-0-first-flight.
14. ↑ "Blue Origin flies next-generation New Shepard vehicle". SpaceNews.com. 13 December 2017. https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-flies-next-generation-new-shepard-vehicle/.
15. ↑ "Apogee 351,000 Feet". Blue Origin. https://www.blueorigin.com/news/apogee-351-000-feet.
16. ↑ Clark, Stephen (29 April 2018). "Video: Blue Origin flies New Shepard rocket for eighth time". https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/29/video-blue-origin-flies-new-shepard-rocket-for-eighth-time/.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Marcia Dunn (19 July 2018). "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launches spacecraft higher than ever". Associated Press. https://apnews.com/1304ed77d0bb4e5c995a8b75a8d52499.
18. ↑ Clark, Stephen. "Blue Origin reschedules New Shepard launch for Wednesday". Spaceflight Now. https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/01/19/blue-origin-aims-to-launch-delayed-new-shepard-flight-monday/.
19. ↑ "Blue Origin New Shepard: Mission 10 (Q1 2019) - collectSPACE: Messages". http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum35/HTML/000903.html.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Clark, Stephen. "Blue Origin "one step closer" to human flights after successful suborbital launch". Spaceflight Now. https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/05/02/blue-origin-one-step-closer-to-human-flights-after-successful-suborbital-launch/.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "New Shepard sets reusability mark on latest suborbital spaceflight". SpaceNews.com. 11 December 2019. https://spacenews.com/new-shepard-sets-reusability-mark-on-latest-suborbital-spaceflight/.
22. ↑ Boyle, Alan (8 December 2019). "Watch Blue Origin send thousands of postcards to space and back on test flight". https://www.geekwire.com/2019/blue-origin-gets-set-send-thousands-postcards-space-back-test-flight/.
23. ↑ "New Shepard Mission NS-12 Updates". Blue Origin. https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-mission-ns-12-updates.
24. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (13 October 2020). "Blue Origin launches and lands the 13th test flight of its space tourism rocket New Shepard" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/12/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-flying-new-shepard-rocket-on-flight-ns-13.html.
25. ↑ "FCC APPLICATION FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY". https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/STA_Print.cfm?mode=current&application_seq=103369.
26. ↑ "NS-15 (Suborbital)" (in en). https://www.rocketlaunch.live/launch/ns-15-suborbital.
27. ↑ Smith, Marcia (14 January 2021). "Dress Rehearsal Puts Blue Origin Closer to Human Spaceflight" (in en). https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/dress-rehearsal-puts-blue-origin-closer-to-human-spaceflight/.
28. ↑ "Bid for the very first seat on New Shepard" (in en). https://www.blueorigin.com/news/bid-for-the-very-first-seat-on-new-shepard.
29. ↑ "WATCH LIVE: First Human Flight (NS-16, Suborbital) Mission (New Shepard) - RocketLaunch.Live". https://www.rocketlaunch.live/launch/new-shepard-crewed-1.
30. ↑ Blue Origin [@blueorigin] (26 August 2021). "Capsule, touchdown! A wholly successful payload mission for New Shepard. A huge congrats to the entire Blue Origin team on another successful flight.". https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1430903439064584207.
31. ↑ "New Shepard Payload Mission NS-17 to Fly NASA Lunar Landing Experiment and Art Installation". Blue Origin. https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-mission-ns-17-launch-updates.
32. ↑ "Blue Origin successfully and safely completes second human flight to space and back". Blue Origin. 13 October 2021. https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-ns-18-mission-updates.
33. ↑ "Blue Origin announces next customers to fly on New Shepard's upcoming human flight on October 12". Blue Origin. https://www.blueorigin.com/news/next-human-flight-on-october-12.
34. ↑ "William Shatner and Blue Origin's Audrey Powers to fly on New Shepard's 18th mission". Blue Origin. https://www.blueorigin.com/news/shatner-powers-announced-ns18.
35. ↑ Foust, Jeff (13 October 2021). "Blue Origin launches second crewed New Shepard mission". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-launches-second-crewed-new-shepard-mission/. "Company executives said in July that they expected to perform two more crewed flights this year, of which this one was the first. The second, projected for December, may be the first to carry six people, the full crew complement of New Shepard."
36. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (31 March 2022). "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launches first New Shepard space crew of 2022" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/31/watch-live-jeff-bezos-blue-origin-launch-new-shepard-ns-20-crew-to-space.html.
37. ↑ Davenport, Justin (4 June 2022). "Blue Origin launches NS-21 suborbital flight with six passengers". NASASpaceFlight. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/06/ns-21-launch/.
38. ↑ navin, Joseph (4 August 202). "New Shepard launches sixth suborbital crewed flight". NASASpaceFlight. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/08/ns-22-launch/.
39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 Foust, Jeff (12 September 2022). "New Shepard suffers in-flight abort on uncrewed suborbital flight". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/new-shepard-suffers-in-flight-abort-on-uncrewed-suborbital-flight/.
40. ↑ "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to launch next space mission on Aug. 31" (in en). 2022-08-24. https://www.space.com/blue-origin-ns-23-mission-august-31.
41. ↑ @blueorigin. "During today’s flight, the capsule escape system successfully separated" (in en). https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1569389844316721152. Missing or empty `|date=` (help)

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*[♺]: Flight proven booster