longawaited

Blue Origin is aiming to finally conclude a more than 15-month pause in operations of its New Shepard suborbital rocket, with the company announcing today that it will fly an uncrewed mission as early as December 18. The company confirmed the launch on its social media account following a Bloomberg report of an internal email on the new targeted date. The mission, called NS-24, will carry 33 science and research payloads and other cargo. The Federal Aviation Administration formally concluded its investigation into the mishap in September, instructing Blue Origin to implement 21 corrective actions, including redesigning the engine and nozzle components as well as “organizational changes.”This new launch date means that Blue Origin has implemented all the actions and received its modified launch license from the FAA. To date, the vehicle has flown more than 22 times, and has taken 31 people to the edge of space and back (including CEO Jeff Bezos himself).