Former Amazon ceo Jeff Bezos is scheduled to blast off the Earth toward space at 9 a.m. ET (6 a.m. Pacific) on Tuesday (July 20). Bezos and three other crew members will ride aboard Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket, New Shepard. This is the 16th launch of New Shepard, which has room for six astronauts and is designed to bring its crew more than 62 miles (100 kilometers) high — touching the edge of space. Here’s a look at New Shepard and what it’s been up to lately.
Spacious seating
The seats in Blue Origin's crew capsule, which sits atop the suborbital rocket New Shepard, are designed to flex and absorb g-forces in the event of an off-nominal, or unexpected, landing.
g-forces
The seats in Blue Origin's crew capsule, which sits atop the suborbital rocket New Shepard, are designed to flex and absorb g-forces in the event of an off-nominal, or unexpected, landing.
Remote lift-off
The suborbital rocket takes off in Shepard's 15th launch (called mission NS-15). The reusable rocket lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas on April 14, 2021.
New shepard booster
The New Shepard booster is shown here as it landed after New Shepard's successful mission to space, the 15th launch of the vehicle that took place on April 14, 2021.
Back on the launchpad
The New Shepard booster on the landing pad after Mission NS-15's success on April 14, 2021. A rocket booster works in concert with the main engines to escape the pull of Earth's gravity.
Capsule descent
The parachutes on the New Shepard crew capsule deployed for descent, providing a soft landing in the Texas desert on April 14, 2021.
Nailed landing
Another image showing the New Shepard crew capsule landing at a remote site in the West Texas desert after a successful mission to space on April 14, 2021.
Space mannequin
On Jan. 14, 2021, the mannequin called Skywalker flew aboard the New Shepard Mission NS-14 crew capsule, which is outfitted with six seats.
Originally published on Live Science.
