New Shepard | NS-38

Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-38: A Milestone in Suborbital Flight

On January 21, 2026, Blue Origin is set to launch its New Shepard NS-38 mission from Launch Site One in West Texas, marking the 38th flight in the program's storied history. This suborbital venture continues the company's push toward routine human spaceflight and scientific research, building on a legacy of reusable rocketry that has redefined accessibility to the edge of space.

At its core, the NS-38 mission objectives center on demonstrating reliable crewed and uncrewed suborbital operations. While specific payload details for this flight remain under wraps—typical for Blue Origin's iterative approach—New Shepard missions often carry a mix of commercial payloads, scientific experiments, and occasionally tourists. The vehicle's payload capabilities are robust for its class: it can accommodate up to 100 kilograms of experiments in microgravity, with flight durations providing about four minutes of weightlessness. This allows for research in fields like fluid dynamics, biology, and materials science, where brief exposure to zero-g yields valuable data. For instance, past missions have tested technologies for NASA's Artemis program, highlighting New Shepard's role as a proving ground for lunar and beyond-Earth innovations.

The rocket's design emphasizes reusability and safety, key hallmarks of Blue Origin's engineering philosophy. New Shepard consists of a single-stage booster powered by the BE-3 liquid hydrogen/oxygen engine, delivering 110,000 pounds of thrust. The crew capsule, detached mid-flight, features large windows for panoramic views and an escape system capable of propelling it away from the booster in emergencies. Standing at 60 feet tall, the vehicle achieves altitudes exceeding 100 kilometers—the Kármán line—before the booster performs a controlled vertical landing using aerodynamic fins and engine throttling. This design not only reduces costs but also minimizes environmental impact through propellant choices that produce water vapor as exhaust.

Performance history underscores New Shepard's reliability. Since its inaugural flight in 2015, the program has logged over 30 successful missions by early 2026, with a near-perfect record of booster recoveries. Early setbacks, like a 2022 anomaly during an uncrewed flight, led to rigorous FAA investigations and enhancements, resulting in a strengthened safety profile. The vehicle's reusability—some boosters have flown more than 10 times—has driven down per-flight costs, making suborbital access more feasible for researchers and private entities.

Strategically, NS-38 advances space exploration by democratizing access