Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, recently launched an investigation after one of the parachutes on its New Shepard capsule failed to fully inflate during a crewed flight. The NS-25 mission, which launched on May 19, saw the crew capsule land successfully, but only two of the three parachutes were fully inflated. This issue was revealed by NASA’s commercial crew program manager, Steve Stich, during a briefing on the upcoming Boeing Starliner crewed test flight. Blue Origin had not disclosed the parachute problem publicly, but had briefed NASA officials about it.
The New Shepard rocket uses three parachutes to decelerate the crew capsule during its descent back to Earth, although it can still land with just one parachute fully deployed. The failure of one parachute during the NS-25 mission occurred when a line controlling its inflation was not cut as intended, according to Stich. Blue Origin is currently investigating the issue, with no root cause identified yet. The company had previously experienced an issue in September 2022, when an uncrewed flight of New Shepard ended in flames, but resumed its space tourism program with the NS-25 mission after addressing the previous launch failure.
The failure of one parachute in the New Shepard capsule raises concerns about potential further delays or issues with future flights. Engineers on the Boeing Starliner program also faced a parachute problem before their first crewed flight, which was delayed due to lower-than-expected failure load limits in the fabric sections of the parachutes. Boeing announced in March 2024 that the safety issue had been resolved. Stich emphasized the challenge of accurately simulating parachute deployment environments, noting that even with advanced technology, it remains difficult to model the inflation of parachutes.
Despite the parachute issue during the NS-25 mission, Blue Origin has resumed its space tourism operations and continues to work on addressing the anomaly. The company’s focus on safety and thorough investigations of technical problems demonstrate its commitment to ensuring the success of future crewed flights. While issues with parachutes and other components can present challenges for space companies, ongoing efforts to improve safety and performance are essential for the advancement of space exploration. Stay updated on the latest spaceflight news by following Blue Origin and other space companies on social media platforms.
