Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket Set for First Launch Since 2022 Failure

The mission will carry 33 science payloads and 38,000 postcards, marking a significant step towards resuming crewed flights.

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is set to launch on its first mission in over a year, following a failure in September 2022 that grounded the vehicle.
The launch, scheduled for Monday, December 18, 2023, will carry 33 science and research payloads, as well as 38,000 postcards from the nonprofit Club for the Future.
The September 2022 failure was due to an engine nozzle malfunction, which led to a Federal Aviation Administration investigation and 21 corrective actions for Blue Origin.
The New Shepard rocket is part of Blue Origin's plan to send paying tourists to the edge of space, a goal that has already been achieved with more than two dozen people, including Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.
The successful completion of this mission will pave the way for the resumption of crewed New Shepard flights.