Blue Origin NS-17
Mission typeUncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight
Mission duration10 minutes, 15 seconds
Apogee105.89 km (65.80 mi)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftRSS H. G. Wells
ManufacturerBlue Origin
Start of mission
Launch date26 August 2021
RocketNew Shepard (NS3)
Launch siteCorn Ranch, LS-1
ContractorBlue Origin
End of mission
Landing date26 August 2021
Landing siteCorn Ranch
 

Blue Origin NS-17 was an uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight mission of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, which launched on 26 August 2021. It was New Shepards 4th flight in 2021. It was also Blue Origin's 17th overall flight to go into space.[1][2]

Flight

The vehicle lifted off at 14:31 UTC on 26 August 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 24 seconds into the flight. At T+2:43, the capsule separated from the booster, at which point it began to experience Zero G, until T+5:33, giving the payloads 2 minutes and 50 seconds of uninterrupted Zero G. RSS H. G. Wells passed the Karman Line at T+3 minutes 30 seconds after launch, until T+4:39, spending a total of 1 minute, 9 seconds in space. The capsule reached apogee at T+4:06, reaching an altitude of 347,430 feet (105,896 meters), while the booster reached an apogee of 347,032 feet (105,775 meters).[3][4][5] The booster deployed its ring and wedge fins during descent, before reigniting its single BE-3 engine, coming to a near-hover and touching down at T+7 minutes 27 seconds into the flight on Blue Origin's North Landing Pad, ~3.3 km (~2 miles) away from the launch site.[6][7][8] At 09:41:15 CST (14:41:15 UTC) the crew capsule landed at the Corn Ranch site, 10 minutes, 15 seconds after liftoff.[9] The booster supporting this mission was New Shepard Booster 3 (NS3), a booster specifically dedicated to uncrewed cargo missions. This was its 8th total flight with a 317-day turnaround time, it was paired with the RSS H. G. Wells crew capsule on top for this flight.[10][11]

Payload

There were 20 payloads on this mission, from NASA and commercial companies. These included a NASA lunar landing technology demonstration, which was placed on the exterior of the booster, 18 commercial payloads inside the crew capsule, of which 11 were supported by NASA, and an art installation on the exterior of the capsule. The capsule also carried thousands of postcards from the "Postcards to Space" program, run by the Club for the Future organization, a Blue Origin nonprofit.[12]

Payload Operator Description
The Model Propellant

Gauging Experiment

 Carthage College Tests a new approach to measuring propellant

levels in spacecraft in the environment of space.[13]

OSCAR NASA Kennedy Space Center Tests how common spaceflight waste products can be reused.[14][15]
Liquid Acquisition Device (LAD-3) Southwest Research Institute Demonstrates how liquid/vapor interfaces behave in microgravity. Applications include cryogenic propellant storage and management.[16]
Biological Imaging in Support of Suborbital Science University of Florida Tests an improved version of the BISS system, including autofocus and improved resolution.[17][18]
Safe and Precise Landing Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) (aka Deorbit, Descent and Landing "DDL" Sensor Demonstration) NASA Tests precision landing capabilities for future moon landings. On this flight, a camera and a Doppler LIDAR, along with a high-performance computer were tested. Previously flown on Blue Origin NS-13.[19][20][21][22][23]

References

  1. ↑ Replay – New Shepard Mission NS-17 Webcast, retrieved 23 December 2023
  2. ↑ "New Shepard Mission NS-17 Launch Updates". Blue Origin. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  3. ↑ Replay – New Shepard Mission NS-17 Webcast, retrieved 23 December 2023
  4. ↑ "New Shepard Mission NS-17 Launch Updates". Blue Origin. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Mike Wall (26 August 2021). "Blue Origin launches New Shepard to test moon landing tech and more in suborbital flight". Space.com. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Davenport, Justin (26 August 2021). "Blue Origin launches NS-17 suborbital science mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "New Shepard | NS-17". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  8. ↑ DeSisto, Austin (28 August 2021). "NS-17 | New Shepard". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Replay – New Shepard Mission NS-17 Webcast, retrieved 23 December 2023
  10. ↑ "New Shepard | NS-17". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Davenport, Justin (26 August 2021). "Blue Origin launches NS-17 suborbital science mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "New Shepard Mission NS-17 Launch Updates". Blue Origin. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "New Shepard Mission NS-17 Launch Updates". Blue Origin. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "New Shepard Mission NS-17 Launch Updates". Blue Origin. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  15. ↑ Faces of Technology: Meet Annie Meier, retrieved 23 December 2023
  16. ↑ "New Shepard Mission NS-17 Launch Updates". Blue Origin. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "New Shepard Mission NS-17 Launch Updates". Blue Origin. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "Biological Imaging in Support of Suborbital Science". Flight Opportunities. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  19. ↑ Davenport, Justin (26 August 2021). "Blue Origin launches NS-17 suborbital science mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  20. ↑ Etherington, Darrell (18 September 2020). "NASA to test precision automated landing system designed for the moon and Mars on upcoming Blue Origin mission". TechCrunch. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  21. ↑ Rutishauser, David; Ramadorai, Ray; Prothro, John; Fleming, Thadeus; Fidelman, Peter (11 January 2021). "NASA and Blue Origin Collaborative Assessment of Precision Landing Algorithms and Computing". NTRS.
  22. ↑ Clark, Stephen. "A month after Bezos's flight, Blue Origin launches NASA moon tech demo – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  23. ↑ DeSisto, Austin (28 August 2021). "NS-17 | New Shepard". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
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