Blue Origin NS-15

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  none Launch date - time  14 April 2021 - 16:50 UTC Launch site  Corn Ranch, LS-1 Launch vehicle  New Shepard Booster  NS-4 Spacecraft  RSS First Step Manufacturer / Contractor  Blue Origin Mass (kg)  12519 kg crew size  uncrewed, test for manned flight Earth flight:    Apogee  107 km Landing date - time  14 April 2021 - 17:00:10 UTC Landing site   Corn Ranch Mission type  Sub-orbital spaceflight, Apogee: 107 km Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  10 min, 10 sec

Description:

• Blue Origin NS-15 was a sub-orbital spaceflight of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, which launched on April 14, 2021. It was New Shepards 2nd flight in 2021 and Blue Origin's 15th overall flight to go into space.

Mission details:

• The vehicle lifted off at 11:50 am CDT (16:50 UTC) on April 14, 2021, from Launch Site 1 (LS-1) at Blue Origins' Corn Ranch launch site in Texas, United States. Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) occurred at T+2 minutes 23 seconds into the flight. At T+2:44, the capsule separated from the booster, from which point it began to experience Zero G, until T+5:35, giving the payloads 2 minutes and 51 seconds of Zero G for data gathering. RSS First Step passed the Karman Line at T+3 minutes 32 seconds after launch, until T+4:41, spending a total of 1 minute, 9 seconds in space. The capsule reached apogee at T+4:07, reaching an altitude of 351,221 feet (107,052 meters), while the booster reached an apogee of 350,840 feet (106,936 meters). The booster deployed its fins during descent, before reigniting its single BE-3 engine, coming to a near-hover and touching down at T+7 minutes 24 seconds into the flight on Blue Origin's North Landing Pad, ~3.3 km (~2 miles) away from the launch site. At 12:00:10 pm CDT (17:00:10 UTC) the capsule landed at the Corn Ranch site, 10 minutes, 10 seconds after liftoff. The booster supporting this mission was New Shepard Booster 3 (NS3), a booster specifically dedicated to cargo missions. This was its 7th total flight with a 183-day turnaround time, it was paired with the RSS First Step capsule on top for this flight.
• Payload: New Shepard flights NS-15, did not carry science experiments, as the flight was a test to prepare for carrying humans. The only payloads on board were a mannequin, dubbed "Mannequin Skywalker", which was outfitted with various sensors to monitor the environment inside the capsule and the effects on the body.
  The other payload was 25,000 postcards from around the world as part of the "Postcards to Space" program developed by Club for the Future, a Blue Origin non-profit company.

NS-15 transport to launchpad.

NS-15 launch

NS-15 booster landing at the end of its part of the NS-11 mission on 2 May 2019. Credit: Blue origin

External links:

• Wikipedia: Description mission