Bezos' Rocket A Step Closer To Putting Man In Space

Rocket Company Blue Origin pulled off a double success, coming a step closer to launching people into space. The aerospace startup led by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos tested the escape system of its space capsule on 5 October in remote west Texas. Forty five seconds into the flight, the capsule popped off like a champagne cork. Propelled by an escape motor mounted underneath. Not only did the empty capsule land safely under parachutes four minutes after liftoff, the rocket managed to fly back and land upright. This was the first in-flight test of the emergency escape system, designed to save lives if something goes wrong with the rocket during liftoff and the first test of its kind in the US since the 1960s. Blue Origin’s launch commentators called it an “epic flight” from beginning to end. Bezos had warned in advance that the booster rocket probably would end up crashing back to earth, after being jolted by the 70,000 pounds of force exerted by the escape system. Instead, the booster made what looked to be a fine vertical touchdown seven minutes after liftoff, just a couple miles from its launch pad.