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Blue OriginNew ShepardWest Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch, Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

NS-18

Launched

October 13, 2021

Launch Successful

Summary

NS-18 launched on a Blue Origin New Shepard from West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch, Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA on October 13, 2021. It was Blue Origin's 18th launch and 5th this year. It was the 18th New Shepard flight and the 5th this year. Booster NS-4 flew for the 4th time and landed at Corn Ranch Landing Pad, West Texas. The payload was bound for Suborbital (Sub). 4 crew members flew: Glen de Vries, Chris Boshuizen, William Shatner and Audrey Powers. The spacecraft was RSS First Step (2.0-2).

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Vehicle
New Shepard · Blue Origin
Booster
  • NS-4 · flight 4 · Return to Launch Site at Corn Ranch Landing Pad, West Texas · landed33/35 landed here · 85 days after its previous flight, NS-16 · 3 km downrange
Mission
Tourism · Suborbital (Sub)
Milestone
18th New Shepard flight · 5th this yearBlue Origin's 18th launch5th this year

Crew

4 people

Spacecraft

RSS First Step (2.0-2)

First Blue Origin New Shepard Crew Capsule 2.0 to carry human passengers. This capsule is outfitted with improvements to environmental features such as acoustics and temperature regulation inside the capsule, crew display panels, and speakers with a microphone and push-to-talk button at each seat.

  • Destination: Suborbital
  • Mission length: under an hour

The RSS First Step capsule successfully touched down at Blue Origin's Corn Ranch facility

Webcast

Replay
Watch on YouTube

Flight preview

About this launch

NS-18 is the second crewed New Shepard flight, carrying 4 paying customers.

Pad

Map of West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch

West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch, Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

18th launch from West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch, 5th this year · 18th from Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

38 launches from this pad · 38 from Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

48 days after the previous launch from this pad

All launches from Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USAOpen in maps

Updates

Passengers were recovered, successful flight

SwGustav · Oct 13, 2021

Show 5 earlier updates

  • Liftoff

    SwGustav · 10/13/2021

  • Adjusting T-0

    SwGustav · 10/12/2021 · source

  • Pushed by a day due to forecasted winds.

    Nosu · 10/10/2021 · source

  • Targeting a launch time of 13:30 UTC per latest Blue Origin statement.

    Nosu · 10/4/2021 · source

  • Adding the launch

    SwGustav · 9/27/2021 · source

Questions

When did NS-18 launch?

NS-18 launched on October 13, 2021. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.

Where can I watch NS-18?

Coverage: New Shepard NS-18; Replay: New Shepard Mission NS-18 Webcast. Watch the replay

What rocket launched NS-18?

New Shepard, flown by Blue Origin. New Shepard spec sheet

Where did NS-18 launch from?

West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch, Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA.

Did the booster land?

Booster NS-4 flew for the 4th time and landed at Corn Ranch Landing Pad, West Texas.

What orbit was NS-18 going to?

Suborbital (Sub), a tourism mission.