Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket Successfully Landed After an Escape Pod Test | WIRED

Catch a video of the mission here

"Today, Blue Origin tested the escape system while the rocket was 16,000 feet above west Texas—about 45 seconds after launch. At this altitude, the rocket was at so-called maximum Q, when aerodynamic stress is at its highest. When the emergency escape engine fired, it unleashed 70,000 pounds of force against the top of the rocket booster. Blue Origin’s engineers expected that pressure would be enough to send the booster off kilter, making it impossible to land.

They were wrong. While the crew capsule deployed parachutes, the booster continued going up into space. After reaching its target altitude, it cut the engines and began descending back towards Texas. It used its fins to steer most of the way back, and kicked on its main engines for the final few hundred feet before settling back onto the launchpad."

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket Successfully Landed After an Escape Pod Test | WIRED