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Blue Origin conducted tests simulating lunar gravity during the suborbital mission of New Shepard.

The space company Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its suborbital rocket New Shepard on mission NS-29 on February 4, 2025, at 7:00 PM Moscow time. The launch took place at Launch Site One in West Texas.
Blue Origin провела тесты, имитирующие лунную гравитацию, в рамках суборбитальной миссии New Shepard.
Запуск миссии NS-29 по имитации лунной гравитации 4 февраля 2025 года / © Blue Origin

The capsule with the experimental payload detached from New Shepard just over 2.5 minutes after launch.

The rocket returned to Earth and successfully landed on the landing pad, while the capsule reached an apogee of 104 kilometers and landed near the launch site approximately 10 minutes after takeoff.

The main feature of this flight was the rotation of the capsule after its separation from New Shepard. The capsule's reaction control system engines were programmed to rotate it at a speed of 11 revolutions per minute, which allowed for the simulation of lunar gravity conditions inside the capsule.

However, Blue Origin has yet to provide precise data regarding the achievement of lunar gravity conditions and their duration.

Onboard the capsule were 29 payloads, 17 of which were provided by NASA under the Flight Opportunities program, which supports the development of lunar gravity simulation capabilities for New Shepard. The experiments covered six categories: resource utilization, dust mitigation, habitation systems, sensors and instruments, small spacecraft technologies, as well as atmospheric entry, descent, and landing. One additional payload was mounted on the exterior of the rocket to be affected by space conditions.