Blue Origin completes test launch of New Shepard spacecraft
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028837
BBC : Private aerospace company Blue Origin says that yesterday it conducted the first test flight of its New Shepard space vehicle. The craft is designed to be a vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing, suborbital manned rocket. According to the company, the test was largely successful; the unmanned crew capsule deployed its parachutes and returned as intended. However, the propulsion module failed during descent because of a problem with the hydraulic system. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, who also founded Amazon.com, says the company is already working on an improved hydraulic system and a next-generation spacecraft, which will be much larger than New Shepard.
