--- title: "Blue Origin Rocket Fails Midway Through Flight, Jettisoning Capsule" description: "Blue Origin had to abort its latest uncrewed mission midflight.The company's New Shepard capsule was carrying a number of science experiments." date: "2022-09-12" modified: "2022-09-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/blue-origin-abort-mission" categories: - "Blue Origin" - "Space" tags: - "blue origin" - "new shepard" - "the digest" --- # Blue Origin Rocket Fails Midway Through Flight, Jettisoning Capsule ![Blue Origin had to abort its latest uncrewed mission midflight.The company's New Shepard capsule was carrying a number of science experiments.]() *\Image: Blue Origin\* ## Abort, Abort Blue Origin had to abort its latest uncrewed mission midflight. The company's New Shepard capsule was carrying a number of science experiments to a planned altitude of just over 60 miles — the internationally recognized edge of space — when it had to suddenly fire its abort motor escape system roughly a minute after launching from the company's launch pad in West Texas. Fortunately, nobody was on board, and the capsule did make a soft landing after pulling the plug — but things could've looked a lot uglier if tourists had been on board. "Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight," the [company said]() in the wake of the incident. "Escape system performed as designed." https://youtu.be/SqAVWvOT-1c?t=4910 ## Launch Issues The company has used the platform to launch a number of crews, [including high-profile celebrities](), to the edge of space. We still don't know what happened to the booster after it separated from the New Shepard capsule, as the company decided to focus on the fate of its capsule instead for its [live feed](). The feed shows the capsule and booster light up in a fiery but likely intentional explosion, around 1:21:50 into the livestream), as the capsule was jettisoned from its booster to gain distance. The company has yet to elaborate on what occurred — or what happened to its booster. "We’re responding to an issue this morning at our Launch Site One location in West Texas," the company [tweeted](). "More information to come as it is available." The capsule itself, however, appears to have survived with its payload stored inside, gently making its way back to the surface with the aid of its landing parachutes. ## Backup Systems In other words, Blue Origin's redundant systems in the case of launch failure appear to have worked — the best case scenario, given the circumstances. "You can see how our backup systems kicked in today," the host of the company's webcast said, "to keep our payloads safe during an off-nominal situation." "A good reminder (that I needed) that no rocket launch is routine," *Bloomberg* space reporter [Loren Grush wrote](). "Sometimes rockets fail — that's when emergency systems have to work," retired Canadian astronaut legend Chris Hadfield [tweeted](). "Glad no one was hurt." **More on Blue Origin:** *[Jeff Bezos Ditches Plan to Land Rockets on Ship Named for His Mom]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()