Blue Origin launches ‘Skywalker Mannequin’ into suborbital space

Blue Origin plans to launch an improved New Shepard spacecraft today, along with a test dummy named Mannequin Skywalker. You can watch the action live here.

The new Shepard NS-14 mission is scheduled to launch at 11:57 a.m. ET (10:57 a.m. CST local time) from Blue Origin’s One Launch Site in West Texas. The live broadcast is expected to begin approximately 30 minutes before takeoff. You can watch it live below or at Blue Origin website.

This will mark the 14th launch of the New Shepard program, which is now in its seventh year of unmanned flight testing. Eventually, the reusable suborbital launcher will take space tourists, about six per flight, beyond the Kármán Line – the internationally recognized space frontier.

Looking through the big capsule windows, the future passengers will have a magnificent view, lasting about 11 minutes, of our blue planet at heights up to 100 km. The New Shepard spacecraft will enter suborbital space, and, without entering Earth orbit, return to the surface shortly after launch. The booster will perform a vertical landing, while the capsule will use parachutes to make its slow descent.

Before this happens however, Blue Origin must certify that the capsule is suitable for humans. The company is very close to achieving this, with today’s launch being a milestone.

Model Skywalker (a play on Anakin Skywalker by Star wars) traveled in the suborbital space before, but the test dummy should notice further improvements.

The crew capsule has been modified to improve the passenger experience, including improved acoustics and temperature control inside the vehicle, new display panels for the crew, speakers with microphone and a talk button on each seat, according to at Blue Origin, which is owned and run by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and one of the richest people on earth. The capsule has also been fitted with six seats, one of which will be occupied by Mannequin Skywalker.

A key objective of the New Shepard NS-14 mission will be to test the security communication and warning systems. A successful test today could set the stage for a true crewed flight, which is not expected until 2022. Blue Origin initially hoped to launch humans into space in 2019.

The price of a ticket to the suborbital space is not yet known, with estimates from $ 50,000 to $ 250,000 per seat. Sadly, these adventures in space won’t immediately be accessible to those of us in the 99%.