How Blue Origin's Suborbital Rocket Ride Works (Infographic)

by Karl Tate, Infographics Artist   |   September 15, 2015 03:26pm ET

New Shepard, named after Mercury astronaut and Apollo moonwalker Alan Shepard, is Jeff Bezos’ scheme for high-altitude, near-space tourism. A propulsion module (rocket) lobs the crew to an altitude of 307,000 feet (93,573 meters) – 

well above the height required to earn NASA astronaut wings. The rocket returns to its launch site and lands, while the crew capsule descends on a parachute.

The six-person crew capsule has an interior volume of 530 cubic feet (15 cubic meters). The capsule has six big observation windows that the company boasts are the largest-ever windows on a spacecraft.

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