Bezos' Blue Origin set for 12th test flight of New Shepard spacecraft
Blue Origin, the ambitious space company owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos, readied a reusable New Shepard rocket and capsule for launch Tuesday, the 12th in a series of unpiloted test flights before the sub-orbital craft begins carrying paying customers on brief forays into space.
The hydrogen-fueled New Shepard was scheduled for liftoff from Blue Origin's west Texas flight facility at 11:30 a.m. EST, two hours later than originally planned because of light rain and clouds in the area. In a tweet Monday, the company said the weather was "not as favorable as we'd like, but we're continuing to keep an eye on the forecast."
Assuming clearance to fly, the New Shepard's BE-3 engine will propel the capsule to a velocity of more than three times the speed of sound, releasing the ship on a ballistic trajectory that will carry it to an altitude above 60 miles.