Blue Origin flies NS-25 crew mission with success

On May 19, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. CDT / 13:30 UTC, Blue Origin launched the NS-25 mission including a human crew onboard, and concluded with a success. Here you can watch the full webcast replay.

New Shepard mission NS-25 lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas. The crew flight includes passengers Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, Gopi Thotakura, and Former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight.

Last Human Flight

This new human spaceflight from Blue Origin comes nearly 2 years after the NS-22 mission launched in August 2022. This long pause was a result of an incident that occurred during a cargo-only mission in September 2022.

During the mission, the launch vehicle experienced an anomaly. The launch vehicle then triggered the capsule’s abort system to ensure passenger safety but the vehicle didn’t survive.

Following this mishap, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated with Blue Origin. It was found that the anomaly was caused by the BE-3PM engine, which was running hotter than the peak temperature. Eventually, the booster stage suffered from thermal damage to the engine nozzle.

In the aftermath, Blue Origin made 21 corrective actions to improve the vehicle design and prepare the vehicle for the next mission.