Blue Origin has carried out a new launch of the New Shepard suborbital system. As part of it, the simulation of gravity on the Moon was carried out for the first time.

New Shepard was launched on February 4 from Blue Origin Launch Site One in west Texas. After separating from the booster, the capsule continued to gain altitude, climbing to the 105 km mark. This is above the Karman Line, accepted as the boundary between outer space and the atmosphere. Following this, the capsule made a parachute descent while the booster made a successful engine-assisted soft landing. The mission lasted a total of 10 minutes and 6 seconds.
The past flight is interesting because within its framework, Blue Origin for the first time carried out a simulation of gravity on the surface of the Moon, which is six times less than the Earth’s. After separating the capsule from the booster, the engines spun it to a speed of 11 revolutions per minute. According to Blue Origin officials, the experiment was a success and within two minutes, lunar gravity conditions were recreated inside the capsule.
It is worth noting that there were no people on board the capsule. It carried 29 cargoes, 17 of which were provided by NASA under the Flight Opportunities program. It included an agreement with Blue Origin four years ago to demonstrate the feasibility of simulating lunar gravity, which would allow testing of technologies and instruments for NASA’s lunar program.
The mission payload was represented by the following six cargo categories: in situ resource utilization, dust control, advanced habitat systems, sensors and instruments, small spacecraft technology, and entry, descent, and landing. Another payload was installed on the outside of New Shepard to expose it to space conditions.

It should be noted that during the flight there was an incident: one of the three parachutes of the New Shepard capsule did not open immediately, but only shortly before landing. Commentators on Blue Origin’s live broadcast said the companies were testing a new parachute design, but did not specify the changes made. According to engineers, the incident posed no danger. The capsule is designed to land safely with only two parachutes, which has already happened during the New Shepard flight in May 2024.
According to Spacenews