spacetoday.net: New Shepard flies 12th test flight

New Shepard flies 12th test flight

Posted: Sun, Dec 15, 2019, 7:33 AM ET (1233 GMT)
Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle made its first flight in more than seven months Wednesday. The vehicle lifted off at 12:53 pm EST (1753 GMT) from the company's West Texas site, reaching a peak altitude of about 105 kilometers on the ten-minute flight. The vehicle carried a number of research and educational payloads, from science experiments to postcards contributed by children. The flight was the first since May for the vehicle, and Blue Origin, which once planned to start flying people this year, acknowledged it will need "a couple more flights" before it's ready to begin crewed flights.