Blue Origin Successfully Launches and Lands Its New Shepard Rocket During 11th Test Flight

Blue Origin successfully performed another test launch of its New Shepard system today. Both the New Shepard rocket and capsule touched down safely back at the company's West Texas facility around 10 minutes after liftoff. The capsule reached about 346,000 feet, or more than 65 miles, eclipsing the recognized boundary of space. Some context: Before today, New Shepard has landed nine out of the 10 times it's flown, and the vehicle has proven that it can keep people safe even in emergency scenarios. However, there still isn't a solid timeline for when the first test passengers will fly on the vehicle, and the company has not started selling tickets to customers yet. The rocket flying this week is the third iteration of the New Shepard vehicle, and the company has built a fourth version that will take the first crews to space. That rocket is supposed to fly sometime this year, according to Blue Origin, but exactly when is still unclear.

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