Weather forces Blue Origin to scrub launch of short space trip

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — After an extended delay brought on by unfavorable weather conditions and a vehicle issue that required troubleshooting, Blue Origin has scrubbed its Tuesday morning launch.

This trip was intended to simulate the moon's gravity and would have flown 30 payloads, according to the company.

The launch window for the New Shepard flight, NS-29, opened at 9 a.m. MT/11 a.m. ET at Launch Site One outside of Van Horn, Texas. The launch was placed on a weather hold shortly before 9:30 a.m. MT.

Just before 11 a.m. MT, Blue Origin scrubbed the flight. It's not yet clear when it will be rescheduled.

The payloads aboard NS-29 were set to experience at least two minutes of lunar gravity forces, a first for New Shepard.

The flight was going to test six broad lunar technology areas: in-situ resource utilization (materials from other planets, moons or asteroids); dust mitigation; advanced habitation systems; sensors and instrumentation; small spacecraft technologies; and entry descent and landing.

"Proving out these technologies at lower cost is another step toward Blue Origin’s mission to lower the cost of access to space for the benefit of Earth. It also enables NASA and other lunar surface technology providers to test innovations critical to achieving Artemis program goals and exploring the Moon’s surface," Blue Origin said in a news release.

Tuesday would have marked New Shepard’s 29th flight and brought the total number of commercial payloads flown on New Shepard to more than 175. Of this mission's 30 payloads, 29 were to fly inside the crew capsule and one on the booster with exposure to the ambient space environment, Blue Origin said.

The mission was also set to carry thousands of postcards on behalf of Club for the Future, Blue Origin’s STEAM-focused nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.