Blue Origin, the private spaceflight company owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, ran its third successful test on a reusable New Shepard rocket capable of landing after reentry on Saturday, reported the Verge.
On Twitter, Bezos called the rocket's performance "flawless." According to CNN Money, this latest launch marks yet another notch in Blue Origin's eventual plan to use the technology for lucrative space tourism, and further demonstrated the rocket's scientific utility. In addition to a test crew capsule, the rocket carried equipment running two microgravity tests for the Southwest Research Institute and the University of Central Florida.
Pushing the envelope. Restarting BE-3 fast @ high thrust, just 3600 ft from ground. Impact in 6 sec if engine doesn't restart & ramp fast.
Readying Crew Capsule for flt. Clear skies in TX. Tracking for morning launch. #LaunchLandRepeat @BlueOrigin pic.twitter.com/X22DBlf9ZE
Crew Capsule is locked & ready for flt. Tortoises mark successful CC missions. #LaunchLandRepeat @BlueOrigin pic.twitter.com/akPaP9EFIu
Liftoff and New Shepard is climbing to apogee. @BlueOrigin
Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin launches and successfully lands rocket. http://cnnmon.ie/1V0OBxT pic.twitter.com/zz4iqLQMgt
Flawless BE-3 restart and perfect booster landing. CC chutes deployed. @BlueOrigin
CC touchdown confirmed. #LaunchLandRepeat @BlueOrigin
The rocket technology was previously tested successfully in November 2015 and January 2016.
According to Bezos, Blue Origin technology allows for far cheaper spaceflight than existing systems.
He told Ars Technica following the January test that the cost of refurbishing the rocket for another trip was in "in the small tens of thousands of dollars ... We inspected it and said, 'Let's go.' It was designed to be reusable from the start." Manned tests of the rocket are scheduled to commence as soon as 2017. and the company hopes to launch the first tourists by the year after.
h/t the Verge
