On October 8, Blue Origin launched its New Shepard suborbital system. This mission was the sixth manned flight in 2025.
New Shepard launched from Launch Site One in Texas. The capsule carrying the RSS First Step (NS-36) mission crew reached a maximum altitude of 106 kilometers and then landed by parachute. This was about 10 minutes after liftoff and about three minutes after the booster made a successful vertical landing using its engines.
Six passengers participated in the NS-36 mission. The identity of one of them was not disclosed prior to launch at his request. After landing, Blue Origin announced that the person was Will Lewis, a chairman of a biotech company and former investment banker. Among the five other passengers is Clint Kelly III, who previously flew on New Shepard in the NS-22 mission in August 2022. He became the sixth person to have two flights on this aircraft.
The flight was the eighth for New Shepard in 2025, including two unmanned missions. Over the next two years, Blue Origin intends to move from its current flight frequency of nearly once a month to approximately weekly missions.
This acceleration will be made possible by three additional New Shepard rockets, which Blue Origin plans to add to its fleet, which currently consists of two rockets. They will receive a number of improvements, including upgraded BE-3 engines, which will reduce operating costs.
The increase in flight frequency is due to high customer demand. According to company representatives, the order book is currently stretched out over more than a year. The transition to weekly flights will maximize the capacity of Launch Site One. Therefore, Blue Origin is considering new launch sites for New Shepard, including those outside the United States.
Earlier, we reported on how Blue Origin sent a crypto billionaire into space.
According to Spacenews
