New Shepard is a vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing, crew-rated suborbital launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin as a commercial system for suborbital space tourism.
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11 Facts About New Shepard
2.
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.
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3.
New Shepard 2, called "Tail 2", flight test article propulsion module made five successful flights in 2015 and 2016, being retired after its fifth flight in October 2016.
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4.
New Shepard 3, called "Tail 3", along with capsule RSS H G Wells, was modified for increased reusability and improved thermal protection; it includes a redesigned propulsion module and the inclusion of new access panels for more rapid servicing and improved thermal protection.
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5.
New Shepard 3 was destroyed during the NS-23 mission once it impacted the ground on 12 September 2022 after a booster engine anomaly led to the activation of the in-flight abort system.
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6.
New Shepard 4, called "Tail 4", which flies with capsule RSS First Step, was the fourth propulsion module to be built and the first to carry human passengers.
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7.
New Shepard is a fully reusable, vertical takeoff, vertical landing space vehicle composed of two principal parts: a pressurized crew capsule and a booster rocket that Blue Origin calls a propulsion module.
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8.
The New Shepard is controlled entirely by on-board computers, without ground control or a human pilot.
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9.
New Shepard Crew Capsule is a pressurized crew capsule that can carry six people, and supports a "full-envelope" launch escape system that can separate the capsule from the booster rocket anywhere during the ascent.
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10.
The full-scale vehicle was initially expected to be operational for revenue service as early as 2010, though that goal was not met and the first full-scale test flight of a New Shepard vehicle was successfully completed 2015, with commercial service currently aimed for no earlier than 2020.
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11.
New Shepard recovered remnants of the craft from ground search.
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