Blue Origin's Reusable Rocket makes 3rd Flight
Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin just relaunched and relanded a rocket—again. It’s the second time that Blue Origin has reused this particular New Shepard rocket and the third time the rocket has gone to space. If Bezos has his way, reusable rockets that take off and land will be as unremarkable airplanes that do it everyday.
But a few small things were different this time. In the lead-up to the launch, Blue Origin announced it was upping the ante by restarting the rocket engine only 3,600 feet in the air, leaving less room for error as it maneuvers on the way down.
It’s also tested a new algorithm for the crew capsule, which separates from the rocket and lands via parachutes. And lastly, the New Shepard got some additional cargo: a couple microgravity experiments.