How Blue Origin's Rocket Could Revolutionize Spaceflight

2015-11-24T21:21:00.000Z

blue origin new shephard rocket landing test 2

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, has been working on a rocket system for 15 years to make spaceflight routine and affordable to paying customers.

On Tuesday, Nov. 24, Bezos' company Blue Origin made history by launching its New Shepard rocket 62 miles above the Earth and then gently landing it back on the ground.

Take a close-up look at how reusable rocket systems like New Shepard could revolutionize space travel.

Jeff Bezos has quietly worked on a reusable rocket system in the West Texas desert for more than a decade.

blue origin new shephard rocket landing test 3

On November 24, his spaceflight company Blue Origin test-launched that system — the New Shepard — once again.

But unlike during other tests, New Shepard reached a speed of about 2,800 mph...

...And flew 62 miles above Earth — the unofficial boundary of space.

Once it got there, the rocket released a space capsule...

blue origin capsule — Artist's concept. Blue Origin

...Then gently touched back down on Earth.

Blue Origin has a lot of reasons to celebrate the history-making achievement.

jeff bezos popping champagne with blue origin employees new shepard rocket

It costs millions of dollars to build a rocket, yet they all end up landing in and sinking to the ocean bottom.

Bezos says launching a rocket today is like flying a 747 airplane once and then "throwing it away."

Source: CBS This Morning

Reusable rockets could dramatically reduce the cost of spaceflight: Launch, land, refuel, and then launch again.

A goal of Blue Origin and other companies is to make spaceflight more affordable to the masses.

blue origin new shapard capsule simulation — Artist's concept. Blue Origin/YouTube

Blue Origin wants to start launching people to the edge of space, where they can experience a few minutes of weightlessness and take in a view like no other.

blue origin capsule simulation — Artist's concept. Blue Origin/YouTube

Some day, Bezos envisions "millions of people living and working in space."

Source: CBS This Morning

But Blue Origin has only taken a small step forward. We won't start suddenly seeing every spacecraft launched into space with a reusable rocket.

That's because Blue Origin did not put a spacecraft into orbit.

New Shepard isn't powerful enough to do that; Bezos' rocket would need about 100 times more energy to pull off the feat.

Source: Elon Musk/Twitter

With 100 times more energy, it becomes much harder to land a rocket. Elon Musk is pretty familiar with this problem.

His rocket company, SpaceX, is working on a more powerful reusable launcher that could put a spacecraft into orbit and then land back on Earth.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Photo Credit SpaceX Posted on AmericaSpace

But SpaceX hasn't quite nailed the landing yet:

So we've got a ways to go before there's a reusable rocket that can launch payloads into orbit.

spacex falcon heavy lift rocket illustration

Blue Origin's achievement is still important, of course: It marks a big step forward in reusable rocket development and commercial spaceflight.

But we can't wait for a view like this. When can we hitch a ride, Blue Origin?

This is how Jeff Bezos' reusable rocket could revolutionize space travel

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

This is how Jeff Bezos' reusable rocket could revolutionize space travel

Jeff Bezos has quietly worked on a reusable rocket system in the West Texas desert for more than a decade.

On November 24, his spaceflight company Blue Origin test-launched that system — the New Shepard — once again.

But unlike during other tests, New Shepard reached a speed of about 2,800 mph...

...And flew 62 miles above Earth — the unofficial boundary of space.

Once it got there, the rocket released a space capsule...

...Then gently touched back down on Earth.

Blue Origin has a lot of reasons to celebrate the history-making achievement.

It costs millions of dollars to build a rocket, yet they all end up landing in and sinking to the ocean bottom.

Bezos says launching a rocket today is like flying a 747 airplane once and then "throwing it away."

Reusable rockets could dramatically reduce the cost of spaceflight: Launch, land, refuel, and then launch again.

A goal of Blue Origin and other companies is to make spaceflight more affordable to the masses.

Blue Origin wants to start launching people to the edge of space, where they can experience a few minutes of weightlessness and take in a view like no other.

Some day, Bezos envisions "millions of people living and working in space."

But Blue Origin has only taken a small step forward. We won't start suddenly seeing every spacecraft launched into space with a reusable rocket.

That's because Blue Origin did not put a spacecraft into orbit.

New Shepard isn't powerful enough to do that; Bezos' rocket would need about 100 times more energy to pull off the feat.

With 100 times more energy, it becomes much harder to land a rocket. Elon Musk is pretty familiar with this problem.

His rocket company, SpaceX, is working on a more powerful reusable launcher that could put a spacecraft into orbit and then land back on Earth.

But SpaceX hasn't quite nailed the landing yet:

So we've got a ways to go before there's a reusable rocket that can launch payloads into orbit.

Blue Origin's achievement is still important, of course: It marks a big step forward in reusable rocket development and commercial spaceflight.

But we can't wait for a view like this. When can we hitch a ride, Blue Origin?

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know