Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket NS-29 Flight: Lunar Gravity Simulation

Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket NS-29 Flight: Lunar Gravity Simulation

Blue Origin successfully completed its 29th New Shepard flight and 14th payload mission on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, from Launch Site One in West Texas. The payloads experienced roughly two minutes of lunar gravity forces. The New Shepard crew capsule used its reaction control system to spin up to approximately 11 revolutions per minute, simulating one-sixth Earth gravity at the midpoint of the crew capsule lockers.

The flight carried 30 payloads from NASA, research institutions, and commercial companies, bringing the number of payloads flown on New Shepard to more than 175. 

Key mission statistics

Official Launch Time: 10:00:00 AM CST / 16:00:00 UTC 

Booster Apogee: 341,700 ft AGL / 345,347 ft MSL (104 km AGL / 105 km MSL) 

Crew Capsule Apogee: 341,944 ft AGL / 345,591 ft MSL (104 km AGL / 105 km MSL) 

Crew Capsule Landing Time: 10:10:06 AM CST / 16:10:06 UTC 

Mission Elapsed Time: 10 minutes, 6 seconds 

“New Shepard’s ability to provide a lunar gravity environment is an extremely unique and valuable capability as researchers set their sights on a return to the Moon,” said Phil Joyce, SVP, New Shepard. “This enables researchers to test lunar technologies at a fraction of the cost, rapidly iterate, and test again in a significantly compressed timeframe.” 

Video Credit: Blue Origin
Duration: 1 minute, 20 seconds
Release Date: Feb. 6, 2025

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