Blue Origin's next suborbital spaceflight, New Shepard mission NS-29, marks a significant step forward in space research. Scheduled for no earlier than January 28th, 11 a.m. Eastern, from West Texas, this mission will demonstrate the capability of New Shepard to generate lunar gravity.
Unlike previous flights experiencing microgravity, NS-29 will utilize reaction control thrusters to spin the crew capsule after separation from the booster. This rotation will simulate lunar gravity at approximately 11 revolutions per minute, providing at least two minutes of this crucial environment for the 30 payloads on board. This significantly surpasses the roughly 20 seconds achievable with parabolic aircraft flights.
The mission includes 29 payloads within the capsule, 17 supplied by NASA's Flight Opportunities program, focusing on areas such as in-situ resource utilization, dust mitigation, advanced habitation systems, sensors and instrumentation, small spacecraft technologies, and entry, descent, and landing. An additional payload will be mounted externally on the New Shepard booster for space environment exposure.
“This is an entirely new way to bring lunar gravity to NASA and other lunar technology providers, accelerating their research and tech readiness at a much lower cost,” stated Dave Limp, chief executive of Blue Origin, in a social media post. This lunar gravity capability has been in development for years, with NASA's collaboration since March 2021, including funding and early payload space purchases.
Blue Origin's Erika Wagner discussed the concept of spinning the capsule to create lunar gravity in an August 2020 webinar, initially planning the first such flight for 2022. Limp also noted the potential for simulating other gravity levels, stating, “Plus, we can adapt this New Shepard capability to closely mirror Mars and other solar system gravity environments in the future.”