Matthew Nelson
Thirty-five NASA microgravity payloads launched aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft from a remote flight test facility in Texas, CBS News reported Thursday.
The spacecraft reached a maximum altitude of 65.5 miles and released three parachutes before descending back to the Earth's surface.
The flight represents the 11th deployment for the vehicle as part of the company's plans to perform commercial space launch services for payloads from researchers, scientists and private entities.
The New Shepard can accommodate equipment from customers and features a full-envelope abort function that will allow the capsule to eject from a malfunctioning booster through the use of built-in escape thrusters.
Blue Origin is currently constructing the BE-4 engine, which will work to push satellites into orbit via the aid of New Glenn rocket systems. In addition, the company intends to deploy citizen astronauts later in 2019.
