On September 12, just three months after Blue Origin announced that the new Shepard sub-orbital aircraft had made a profit of US$100 million, a new Shepard rocket called NS-3 was ignited. This will be the moment when Bezos 's "big toy" set a new record - achieving 9 reuses. The two new Shepard rockets (NS-3 and NS-4) currently in service have completed 8 takeoffs and landings, of which NS-3 is used to carry scientific experiments and instruments, with a maximum of 116 kilometers; while NS-4 is mainly used to carry manned people, and as of September 2022, 32 tourists have been sent above the Carmen Line (space demarcation line). As a result, after NS-3.9 was ignited for about 65 seconds, the flight altitude at this time was about 11.4 kilometers. The tail flame shape of the main engine of the rocket BE-3 suddenly changed, and the color gradually turned red, showing insufficient combustion. Then the escape engine of the NS-3.9 payload compartment ignited and left the rocket and landed safely under the action of a parachute. However, the new Shepard NS-3.9 rocket lost control due to engine problems and fell to the ground.
New Shepard NS-3.9 liftoff
Since Blue Origin broadcast the entire event process on social media, and the camera was not cut off at the time of the incident, and the video was not deleted afterwards, we can use frame-by-frame playback to capture some details. The most important point is that we can observe that when the engine is abnormal, a blocky object sprayed out from the rear of the engine, which is suspected to be a broken or bursting part. But Blue Origin has no statement on the cause of the problem. The next day, when the deputy chief of the Blue Origin Rocket Project "New Glen" participated in a commercial event, he expressed his doubts that there was a problem with the New Shepard BE-3 engine. At the same time, he was frank and honest that before the problem was resolved, the Federal Aviation Administration FAA suspended the flight permit of the New Shepard, that is, the NS-4 cannot fly for manned time.
New Shepard NS-3.9 is waiting for launch
Jarrett Jones doesn't want everyone to associate the BE-3 engine with this accident. The second stage of the New Glen Rocket, currently led by Jones, is driven by two BE-3U engines. The BE-3U is an improved version of BE3. The R&D progress of the New Glenn has been severely lagging behind, and the first flight has been delayed from before 2020 to some time in 2023, which has cost Bezos more than $3 billion. At this time, if there is a problem with the BE-3 of the New Shepard, the New Glen will also have to perform a "zero" operation, which will delay its first flight time again.
New Shepard NS-3.9 payload pod escape instantly
Maybe it is too early to worry that the accident of the "big toy" New Shepard will affect New Glen's first flight, because the BE-3 engine on the New Shepard is a "exhaust cycle", and New Glen's BE-3U has been upgraded to a "expansion cycle". The former is a type of "open loop", while the latter has a lower complexity. To be honest, the problem of the BE-3 engine of the New Shepard has a certain probability that it will not affect the BE-3U. The excuse for the New Glenn's first flight to be postponed again may not be a problem with the secondary engine.
