New Shepard is a fully reusable suborbital launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin for space tourism and research, named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space. It first flew uncrewed in April 2015 and carried its first crew, including Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, in July 2021, crossing the Karman line on a flight of about ten minutes before both the booster and capsule landed separately for reuse.
Facts
Spacecraft TypeSuborbital reusable launch vehicle 1 Manufacturer StatusLaunches paused for at least two years as of a January 30, 2026 Blue Origin announcement, to prioritize the Blue Moon lunar lander program. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationNew Shepard article, overviewQuote, New Shepard article, overview
a fully reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationNew Shepard article, first uncrewed test flight sectionQuote, New Shepard article, first uncrewed test flight section
April 29, 2015 - reached an altitude of 93.5 km
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationNew Shepard article, current status sectionQuote, New Shepard article, current status section
paused for at least two years
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