Will it happen this time? Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, is preparing for another attempt to launch its New Shepard rocket after the launch was cancelled an hour earlier yesterday due to last-minute technical problems. Here are some things you should know about the launch, which, if there is no change, is expected to happen at 18:37 Israel time, live on the company's website and right here:
The launch is Blue Origin's first since September 2022, when its missile was shut down after a crash that led to an investigation. At its conclusion, it was determined that the company would not receive approval from the FAA to launch it again until it made changes to its structure.
Initially, the launch was scheduled for yesterday, but the company initially claimed it was delayed due to too cold weather at the Texas launch pad, and later announced its cancellation due to a "ground system problem." Interestingly, last week the same thing happened to Elon Musk's SpaceX, when the launch of a classified plane for the US Space Force was postponed twice, for the same reasons in the same order.
While SpaceX has yet to reschedule a launch that has already been canceled twice, despite a week and a half since then, Blue Origin was quick to reschedule the launch for today. If he also fails, it would be a major blow for Bezos, whose previous grounding of his rocket had already forced him to sign a contract with his sworn enemy, Elon Musk, for the latter to launch Amazon's internet satellites on SpaceX's rockets. Otherwise, Bezos knows, this service, which competes with Musk's Starlink, won't be able to start operating in the coming year.
The current launch carries 33 scientific experiments, but is also further proof of Blue Origin's capability, which competes with SpaceX and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic for the pockets of wealthy tourists who want to fly into space, see the Earth "from the outside" and experience a few minutes of zero gravity.
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