Why Blue Origin rocket launches are suspended in the US

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Jeff Bezos’ company, owner of Amazon, must complete 21 corrections to its rocket before the next mission. The US regulatory body gave the order after completing an investigation into an accident that occurred in 2022. Launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket in August 2022 Disclosure/Blue Origin Blue Origin, a space tourism company owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, It will not be able to launch in the United States until it makes 21 corrections to its rocket model, known as New Shepard. The determination was made on Wednesday (27) by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which concluded the investigation into the accident with a Blue Origin unmanned vehicle in September 2022. At the time, the rocket had a failure in its propulsion mechanism and crashed about a minute after taking off from a base in Texas, in the southern United States (see the video below). The mission aimed to expose student objects around the world to zero gravity for a few minutes. Due to the failure, the capsule was ejected from the rocket and remained intact for forced landing, as expected in situations like this. Blue Origin rocket crashes after takeoff without causing injuries The US aviation regulatory agency stated that there was a failure in the rocket engine nozzle, caused by higher than expected temperatures in the equipment. “During the accident, the onboard launch vehicle systems detected the anomaly, aborted the operation and separated the capsule from the propulsion module as expected, and shut down the engine,” the FAA said. Among the changes the company is expected to make are the redesign of engine and nozzle components to improve performance during missions, as well as organizational adjustments. Although it is positive that the capsule was ejected immediately, meaning that any possible crew would have been saved from the accident, the closure of the investigation does not represent the “immediate resumption of New Shepard launches”, said the regulatory agency. The agency stated that Blue Origin must make the changes and receive a license change that guarantees compliance with all requirements before the next launch. What Blue Origin says Bezos’ company spoke about the decision on X, formerly Twitter. “We have received the letter from the FAA and plan to fly soon,” Blue Origin said. Since July 2021, the company has transported a total of 31 people, including customers who paid for the trip and guests. Bezos himself participated in the first flight. While Blue Origin was forced to remain grounded, Virgin Galactic, a competitor founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, has already carried out four space flights this year. Both companies compete in the space tourism sector and offer trips that reach zero gravity for a few minutes in what is called “suborbital” space. Virgin Galactic “tickets” were sold for between US$200,000 and US$450,000 (between R$1 million and R$2.6 million, at current prices). Blue Origin, in turn, does not reveal the cost of a “ticket” on its flights. Bob Smith and Jeff Bezos, president and founder of Blue Origin, respectively, in a photo from July 2021 Reuters/Joe Skipper Understand the difference between suborbital and orbital flight

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