Blue Origin NS-2

Commercial spaceflight operator Blue Origin, owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, launches its second New Shepard flight. The uncrewed (but human-rated) capsule and its single-stage suborbital booster come in for soft landings near Blue Origin’s Texas launch facility, after refinements are made to the system of aerodynamic fins designed to keep the booster upright as it returns to the ground for a survivable landing. This is the first intact return of a space-flown booster to Earth. This is the first flight for the second New Shepard reusable capsule, as well as the first flight for the second New Shepard reusable booster; both will be reused again.