Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket lifted off from Texas on Tuesday, a success that marks the return to space of the American company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, more than a year after an accident that raised many questions, AFP reported.

Ten minutes after launch, the NS-24 mission capsule, which contained scientific equipment but no passengers, landed safely in the desert in the American West, according to a live video feed.

This return to space should allow Blue Origin to resume its space tourism business, which has already taken 31 wealthy individuals on minute-long journeys into space, including Jeff Bezos.

The rocket successfully launched from West Texas at 16:43 GMT. Eight minutes later, his reusable propulsion system landed safely on the arid plains of the southern United States.

The takeoff, originally scheduled for Monday, was delayed until the following day “due to an issue with ground systems,” Blue Origin said on X (formerly Twitter).

The NS-24 mission was unmanned but conducted science experiments, more than half of which were developed with NASA support.

The capsule with this equipment gently landed in the desert with the help of parachutes, 10 minutes after takeoff and after crossing the border of space, flying for a few seconds to 107 kilometers above the Earth.

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Crash of 2022

The accident in September 2022 led to the destruction of the power stage of the rocket, which at that time had no passengers on board.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched an investigation which concluded in September that the cause of the crash was “higher than expected engine operating temperatures”.

The FAA required the space company to make changes before resuming flights. These “corrective actions” included changing the design of some engine components.

The regulator confirmed to AFP that it had approved the amended flight license submitted by Blue Origin.

New Horizons / Competition with Virgin Galactic

The New Shepard rocket consists of a propulsion stage (stage) and, on top, a capsule that carries cargo or passengers.

During the NS-23 mission, the capsule’s automatic ejection system activated and it fell to Earth, slowed by its parachutes.

The main floor was destroyed on impact with the ground, instead of a controlled landing for reuse, as would normally be the case.

In September, the FAA said all the debris had fallen back into a designated safe area.

Blue Origin competes in the short-haul space tourism market with Virgin Galactic, a New Mexico-based company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson.

In August, it made its first commercial flight, taking off not from a vertical rocket but from a giant aircraft carrier that then launches a spacecraft.

Blue Origin is also developing a powerful launch vehicle called the New Glenn, which is scheduled for its first flight in 2024.

With a height of 98 meters, the New Glenn rocket should be able to lift up to 45 tons into low Earth orbit – a completely different scale from the suborbital flights of the New Shepard rocket.