Blue Origin successfully launched its New Shepard suborbital vehicle on February 4, simulating lunar gravity conditions during flight. The company’s first attempt at this feat lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas at 11 a.m. Eastern and reached a peak altitude of 105 kilometers above sea level.
The NS-29 mission, which was originally scheduled for the previous week, was delayed due to weather conditions and technical issues. However, despite these setbacks, the capsule successfully spun at 11 revolutions per minute, simulating lunar gravity conditions inside the capsule.
According to Blue Origin, the capsule created lunar gravity conditions for about two minutes, enabling researchers to test lunar technologies at a lower cost and in a more compressed timeframe. The payload-only flight carried 29 payloads, including those provided by NASA through its Flight Opportunities program.
While the mission was largely successful, one of three parachutes did not initially inflate during the capsule’s descent. However, after a brief delay, the third parachute fully inflated shortly before landing.
Source: https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-launches-new-shepard-on-lunar-gravity-suborbital-flight