Blue Origin flies NS-29 mission with lunar experiment payload

On February 4, 2025, Blue Origin launched the NS-29 mission with an important lunar moon test experiment payload from Launch Site One in West Texas. The mission was decided to fly on January 28 but was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather and booster avionics issues.

The New Shepard ignited engines at 10 AM CST/16 UTC. It carried 30 payloads from NAASA, research institutes, and commercial companies. The payload included thousands from Blue Origin’s Club for the Future organization.

The payload experienced two minutes of lunar gravity forces. The flight tested six lunar technologies including in-situ resource utilization, dust mitigation, advanced habitation systems, sensors and instrumentation, small spacecraft technologies, and entry descent and landing.

This lunar surface gravity simulation was created using the capsule’s Reaction Control System (RCS) to spin up to approximately 11 revolutions per minute. The spin rate simulates one-sixth Earth’s gravity at the midpoint of the crew capsule lockers.

This mission used Blue Origin’s dedicated payload capsule paired with a new booster for improved stability and performance.

Below you can check the key statistics from the Blue Origin NS-29 mission:

• Booster Apogee: 341,700 ft AGL / 345,347 ft MSL (104 km AGL / 105 km MSL)
• Crew Capsule Apogee: 341,944 ft AGL / 345,591 ft MSL (104 km AGL / 105 km MSL)
• Crew Capsule Landing Time: 10:10:06 AM CST / 16:10:06 UTC
• Mission Elapsed Time: 10 minutes, 6 seconds

(source)