Last week, we mentioned that Blue Origin’s New Shepard 23 (NS-23) mission had not launched, yet. Then, on September 12, it launched. First, you should know that it was not carrying any humans, only some science experiments for NASA.

However, the flight did not go very well. Well, it did go very well in that its automatic fault detection and launch abort system worked flawlessly, but the mission as a whole was a failure. Happily, no injuries were reported.

At T plus 1 minute 4 seconds, around the maximum dynamic pressure (max-q) – the point of peak mechanical stress on the structure – the propulsion module’s single BE-3 engine failed in a burst of yellow flame, and the rocket began to yaw. Moments later, the booster was enveloped in smoke as the capsule’s launch abort motor fired, pulling the capsule safely away. The capsule reached an apogee of around 12 kilometers before landing safely under parachutes a few minutes later. This was the first launch failure of a New Shepard rocket.

The New Shepard propulsion module, which does not have an explosive flight termination system, blew up when it impacted the ground. It did not explode in mid-air as such a debris cloud would have been noticed on weather radar and nothing like that was detected. The webcast briefly showed its speed on the way down, indicating Blue Origin was still receiving telemetry until the end. A previous deliberate in-flight abort test conducted during the development of New Shepard also left the propulsion module intact after the capsule departed.

The booster on NS-23 was Booster 3, specifically designated for launching uncrewed missions. This was only its 9th flight. Booster 4, the other active booster in the New Shepard fleet, has been used on one uncrewed test and six crewed flights. According to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency is supervising Blue Origin’s failure investigation and will not allow them to return to flight until they are satisfied the issue is fixed.

More Information

Blue Origin press release

Launch video