Blue Origin launches, lands NASA moon landing sensor experiment
Oct. 13 (UPI) — Blue Origin successfully launched a NASA moon landing experiment aboard the company’s reusable New Shepard rocket Tuesday morning in Texas.
Liftoff took place from the company’s launch facilities about 150 miles east of El Paso.
The capsule separated from the rocket minutes into the flight and spent about 3 minutes at the height of an arc just over the Kármán line, the altitude at which space begins.
The rocket booster, with NASA sensors mounted on the exterior, landed smoothly about 7 minutes, 30 seconds after launch. The capsule landed with the aid of parachutes a few minutes later, kicking up a cloud of dust and sand.
The NASA experiment is part of the agency’s Tipping Point program, which seeks to demonstrate technology that can be adopted by private industry.
The project includes a collection of sensors designed to help locate a safe site on the moon