Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, has postponed the return-to-flight launch of its suborbital New Shepard rocket due to a ground system issue encountered during preparations for liftoff. The company made the announcement on social media, stating, “We’re scrubbing #NS24 today due to a ground system issue the team is troubleshooting. We’ll provide a new launch target for this week soon.”
The New Shepard rocket, Blue Origin’s primary vehicle designed for suborbital space tourism, was set to launch at 9:30 a.m. CT (1530 GMT) on Monday. This would have been its first flight since a mission failure last year resulted in a 15-month grounding. The NS24 mission, named for what would have been its 24th flight, did not include any humans on board.
Blue Origin has not provided specific details about the nature of the ground system issue but assured that the team is actively working to resolve the problem. The company plans to announce a new launch target for later in the week.
The New Shepard rocket is a crucial component of Blue Origin’s efforts to develop commercial space tourism, offering brief suborbital journeys for both humans and cargo. The delay in the return-to-flight mission underscores the technical challenges and rigorous safety protocols involved in space exploration and tourism.
