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Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket experiences an anomaly, triggering escape sequence

MastaKiiLA

Member


This is a big setback for the company. Space tourists are understandably going to be jumpy about getting on to a rocket they've seen fail. I wonder what it was like for the people onboard. The Gs they pulled during the separation burn must have been intense.

EDIT: Thanks Pagusas Pagusas . The flight was unmanned, fortunately. That would've been an absolutely brutal experience for anyone onboard.
 
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ManaByte

Member
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Pagusas

Elden Member


This is a big setback for the company. Space tourists are understandably going to be jumpy about getting on to a rocket they've seen fail. I wonder what it was like for the people onboard. The Gs they pulled during the separation burn must have been intense.

is it a setback? It actually makes me feel a bit better about these rockets seeing a real life example of a safety system working.

Edit: Also may want to update the OP, this was an unmanned flight, no people were onboard.
 
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MastaKiiLA

Member
is it a setback? It actually makes me feel a bit better about these rockets seeing a real life example of a safety system working.

Edit: Also may want to update the OP, this was an unmanned flight, no people were onboard.
Thanks. I updated the OP. I would say it's a setback in multiple ways. They have to figure out what caused the failure, which means that rocket isn't launching again for some time. That's assuming they even have another booster.

While I agree they've proven the rocket can keep them safe even in the event of a failure, I don't think anyone would want to experience that escape burn personally. Especially when SpaceX is launching things to orbit without any failures. The worst they've had recently was losing boosters on return, but the ascents have been flawless.

If I had the kind of money it takes to go on one of these flights, I'd probably be signed up for a SpaceX flight instead.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
Thanks. I updated the OP. I would say it's a setback in multiple ways. They have to figure out what caused the failure, which means that rocket isn't launching again for some time. That's assuming they even have another booster.

While I agree they've proven the rocket can keep them safe even in the event of a failure, I don't think anyone would want to experience that escape burn personally. Especially when SpaceX is launching things to orbit without any failures. The worst they've had recently was losing boosters on return, but the ascents have been flawless.

If I had the kind of money it takes to go on one of these flights, I'd probably be signed up for a SpaceX flight instead.
Agreed to not wanting to experience that personally... I remember reading (and this could be incorrect info, so double check it) that 1 in 3 Fighter Pilot ejections cause significant spinal injury, and almost ALL ejections cause minor spinal injuries that require at least minimal therapy.

Those are fighter pilots, most of whom have to be in peak human conditioning to stay on duty, I can't imagine what a non-military trained body would be like in such conditions.
 
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That's not a good take honestly. I think SpaceX has the better approach and is more successful than Blue Origin, but you simply can't develop a rocket system without a few crashes. SpaceX failed multiple rocket launches and landings and even now the odds that something goes wrong are not negligible. That's just the nature of the beast.

I'm honestly surprised at how amazing the safety system performed, separating the capsule from a frikkin' rocket booster that is roaring into space with a force that is equivalent to 40 million horses or 15,000 six-axle diesel locomotives. Would I want to experience that? Hell no, but it's a heck of a lot better than dying in a burning fireball of doom an destruction.

 
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GeekyDad

Member
The chutes deployed successfully, and the capsule seems to have landed in one piece. But...it sure seemed like a pretty damned hard landing. Didn't notice any thrusters fire before impact.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
The chutes deployed successfully, and the capsule seems to have landed in one piece. But...it sure seemed like a pretty damned hard landing. Didn't notice any thrusters fire before impact.
yeah the lady in the broadcast was saying they deployed... but I think she was just reading a script and didn't see that they did not actually deploy (unless it was only a micron of a second they deploy, at 1 feet of the ground or something..)
 
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