Bezos' Blue Origin plans New Shepard rocket flight after 15-month grounding

Jeff Bezos' space venture Blue Origin is planning to return its suborbital New Shepard rocket to flight as soon as December 18, the company said on Tuesday as it looks to resume its space tourism business.

No humans, but 33 science and research payloads will be on board, the company added, referring to cargo that will support experiments in space. New Shepard, which flies cargo and humans on short trips to the edge of space, has been grounded since a September 2022 uncrewed mission failed roughly a minute after liftoff from Texas.