Blue Origin is going to allow people around the world to see the 4th flight test live through the Internet. The live-streaming represents the first piece of direct information Jeff Bezos’ project releases, so far, they have shown reports or recordings. Bezos also said that they were going to test if the capsule could keep the passengers safe in a critical failure situation.

Blue Origin is a company founded by Amazon’s owner, Jeff Bezos. The company has been working since the early 2000s in their space tourism project. Essentially, the idea is to take a group of people on suborbital and orbital flights. To do so, they will employ a reusable rocket of their design, the New Shepard. The rocket is supposed to carry people directly into the orbit and then, to return to Earth and gently land. To do so, it is equipped with different rockets and a group of parachutes that would ease its way back to the ground.

The rocket is supposed to carry people directly into the orbit and then, to return to Earth and gently land. Image Credit: The Verge
The rocket is supposed to carry people directly into the orbit and then, to return to Earth and gently land. Image Credit: The Verge

The spacecraft is equipped with first rockets and a group of parachutes that would ease its way back to the ground. On the other hand, the capsule where the passengers are supposed to be in, it’s been developed to provide the highest standards of security for the people there even in a case of an emergency.

On January 17, 2016, Jeff Bezos announced that the 4th flight test was going to be streamed live on Sunday. According to him, the company will test how safe is the capsule, even in a critical failure situation. Which means, today’s stream will allow everyone around the world to watch Blue Origin launch its rocket and crashes the passenger’s capsule. The streaming is scheduled to start at 9:45 A.M and the rocket will take off at 10:15 A.M.

The company is building the necessary technology for space tourism

Earlier this week, Jeff Bezos announced the latest test for Blue Origins will be available for streaming live. The test will focus on the parachute's failures mainly. Image Credit: Blue Origin
Earlier this week, Jeff Bezos announced the latest test for Blue Origins will be available for streaming live. The test will focus on the parachute’s failures mainly. Image Credit: Blue Origin

Since the company embarked on this project, it has been working on the necessary technology to make it possible. On September 10, 2015, Blue Origin announced they were starting to produce BE-4 engines in the United States. This hardware is a vital piece of the project because they want to launch the rocket and then, bring it back in one piece. It is part of their low-cost process that would allow for passengers to afford the trip.

Both the development team and the man on charge are incredibly committed. After working on the BE-4 engines, they carried out at least a hundred of successfully staged combustion tests, but as good as simulations are, they are just preparation for the real deal. And in November 2015, the company managed to carry on with a successful landing making history in the process.

Since then, the company has completed 3 flight tests, but today they want to try something different. In a flight to the orbit of the Earth, a lot of things can go wrong, and the company seeks to explore that. Today’s launch will test what would happen if the parachutes fail, and how safe the passengers’ capsule is.

“Loading propellants. Looking good for this morning’s launch,” posted Bezos on his Twitter account.

Source: Space