Landing a rocket is a big deal because it moves companies such as Blue Origin closer to achieving a cost efficient means of transporting humans and cargo into space and back. That all changed with Monday's launch, however. Since its inception in 2000 the company has maintained a low profile as it tweaked and perfected its rocket. Owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin ’s goal is to bring customers into sub-orbital space with their rocket, jettisoning a manned capsule at the apex of each flight to afford space tourists a few precious minutes of weightlessness before they are reclaimed by Earth’s gravitational pull. With Monday’s successful launch and subsequent landing, we’re inching ever closer to a new era of space tourism. This means that a new rocket must be manufactured every time a rocket is launched, making repeat flights to be tremendously expensive. Most rockets used to launch capsules into space are used once, falling into the ocean after their fuel is expended. ![]() The rocket, dubbed the New Shepard, took off from Blue Origin’s test facility in Texas and touched down again fully upright, in a near-perfect reverse of its takeoff just minutes before. (Screenshot from YouTube/Blue Origin) Private aeronautics firm Blue Origin on Monday became the first company to successfully launch a rocket into space and bring it back to Earth for a safe landing. The New Shepard inches closer to the ground for a successful landing.
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