The photos show flames shooting from the engine about a minute into the flight and the capsule ejecting from the nose of the rocket. He later landed in the Texas desert supported by three parachutes. Monday’s mission was uncrewed and contained dozens of experiments, but it’s the same system used to launch humans to the edge of space. Blue Origin said the “capsule escape system functioned as designed” after the booster failure on the New Shepard rocket. Video released by the company showed the capsule falling, but not the fate of the rocket, which was going about 700 mph at about 28,000 feet (8,500 meters). The launch commentary went silent when the failure occurred, with the announcer finally saying: “It seems we’ve encountered an anomaly with today’s flight. This was not planned.” The rocket is usually landed upright so it can be used on future flights. The FAA, the US aviation watchdog, has grounded the rocket pending an investigation. Image: The capsule landed with the help of parachutes It was the 23rd mission for the company and Mr. Bezos was on the first crewed mission last year. Thirty-one people, including Star Trek actor William Shatner, have traveled on the rocket, and the last paid flight was last month. Blue Origin, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are all competing in the emerging field of space tourism.
