Historic Starliner crewed launch attempt delayed again due to helium leak in Boeing spacecraft<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite completing training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School and receiving an Air Force recommendation, Dwight ultimately didn\u2019t make the NASA Astronaut Corps. He went on to become an entrepreneur and a sculptor; a new National Geographic documentary on Black astronauts, \u201cThe Space Race,\u201d highlights Dwight\u2019s pioneering story. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had no intention of being an astronaut. That was the last thing on my bucket list,\u201d Dwight said in the documentary. \u201cBut once I was given the challenge, then everything changes.\u201d <\/p>\n
Dwight completed that challenge and reached the edge of space at the age of 90, making him the oldest person to venture to such heights, according to a spokesperson from Blue Origin. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I didn\u2019t need it in my life,\u201d Dwight said of the experience on Blue Origin\u2019s livestream after the capsule touched down at 9:46 a.m. CT (10:46 a.m. ET). \u201cBut I lied. I really, really did need it.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a life-changing experience,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody needs to do this.\u201d <\/p>\n
The rocket booster landed safely a couple minutes prior to the capsule. <\/p>\n
During the mission, the crew soared to more than three times the speed of sound, or more than 2,000 miles per hour. The rocket vaulted the capsule past the K\u00e1rm\u00e1n line, an area 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth\u2019s surface that is <\/strong>widely recognized as the altitude at which outer space begins \u2014 but there\u2019s a lot of gray area. <\/p>\n And at the peak of the flight, passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and striking views of Earth through the cabin windows. <\/p>\n
The launch followed the success of an uncrewed science mission in December \u2014 the New Shepard program\u2019s first flight since the mishap more than a year earlier. <\/p>\n
A New Shepard rocket and spacecraft were set to launch a batch of science instruments on September 12, 2022. But one minute into flight, the rocket endured Max Q \u2014 an aerospace term that refers to a moment of maximum stress on a vehicle. It occurs when the rocket is at a relatively low altitude \u2014 where the atmosphere is still fairly thick \u2014 but the spacecraft is moving at high speeds, creating a moment of intense pressure on the vehicle. <\/p>\n
Around that time, the rocket appeared to emit a massive burst of flames. The New Shepard capsule, which rides atop the rocket, then initiated its launch abort system \u2014 firing up a small engine to blast itself safely away from the malfunctioning rocket. That system worked as intended, parachuting the capsule to a safe landing. <\/p>\n
Blue Origin later revealed that the cause of the failure was a problem with the engine nozzle, a large cone that directs the flaming exhaust at the rocket\u2019s bottom. Onboard computers accurately detected the failure and shut the engine down, according to the company. <\/p>\n
No injuries were reported on the ground, and Blue Origin said the science payloads and the capsule could be flown again. <\/p>\n
But the rocket, left without a functioning engine, smashed back into the ground <\/strong>and was destroyed. Typically after New Shepard launches, the rocket booster guides itself back to a safe upright landing so it can be flown again. <\/p>\n\n
<\/div>\n
Related article<\/span> Bezos-founded Blue Origin lands major NASA moon lander project<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n During a December interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, Bezos said the escape system that jettisoned the capsule to safety is the most difficult piece of engineering in the entire rocket \u2014 but \u201cit is the reason that I am comfortable letting anyone go on New Shepard.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe (rocket) booster is as safe and reliable as we can make it,\u201d Bezos added. \u201cThe power density is so enormous that it is impossible to ever be sure that nothing will go wrong. \u2026 So the only way to improve safety is to have an escape system. <\/p>\n
\u201cA tourism vehicle has to be designed in my view \u2026 to be as safe as one can make it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t make it perfectly safe. It\u2019s impossible.\u201d <\/p>\n
Rocket fix and return to service<\/h3>\n
The Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches and is charged with ensuring public safety, oversaw an investigation into the failure. The probe revealed that the engine nozzle failed because it experienced higher temperatures than what the company had anticipated. <\/p>\n
To fix the issue, Blue Origin said it implemented \u201cdesign changes to the combustion chamber\u201d \u2014 the area of the engine where fuel explosively mixes with oxidizer \u2014 and adjusted \u201coperating parameters,\u201d or the data that the company uses to model safe flights. <\/p>\n
\u201cAdditional design changes to the nozzle have improved structural performance under thermal and dynamic loads,\u201d the company said in a March 2023 statement. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
Related article<\/span> Study proves black holes have a \u2018plunging region,\u2019 just as Einstein predicted<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The FAA formally concluded the mishap investigation on September 27, 2023, outlining 21 \u201ccorrective actions\u201d Blue Origin needed to implement before returning to flight. The agency did not reveal details on what those actions were, noting the report \u201ccontains proprietary data and U.S Export Control <\/strong>information and is not available for public release.\u201d <\/p>\n The changes and New Shephard\u2019s successful December flight teed up the company to restart its trips to space for thrill seekers. <\/p>\n
Before the September 2022 failure, New Shepard rockets had flown 22 consecutive successful missions \u2014 including six with passengers on board. Bezos flew aboard the rocket in 2021. Other notable space tourists previously carried by the vehicle include \u201cStar Trek\u201d actor William Shatner and \u201cGood Morning America\u201d host Michael Strahan. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Blue Origin\u2019s tourism rocket has launched passengers to the edge of space for the first time in nearly two years, ending a hiatus prompted by a failed uncrewed test flight. The New Shepard rocket and capsule lifted off at 9:36 a.m. CT (10:36 a.m. ET) from Blue Origin\u2019s facilities on a private ranch in West <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}