NS-15

Mannequin Skywalker

• Role: Anthropomorphic Test Device
• Nationality: Unknown
• First Flight: 12/12/2017
• Last Flight: 04/14/2021

"Mannequin Skywalker" is a test dummy flown on Blue Origin New Shepard 3's initial flight test.

Mission

NS-15

• Type: Suborbital
• Orbit: Suborbital

Fifteenth flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.

During the mission, astronaut operational exercises will be conducted in preparation for human space flight. The primary operations will entail Blue Origin personnel standing in as astronauts entering into the capsule prior to launch. These astronauts will climb the launch tower, get into their seats, buckle their harnesses, and conduct a communications check from their seat with CAPCOM, the Capsule Communicator. The tower operations team will prepare the capsule cabin for launch and then briefly close the capsule hatch. The astronauts will then exit the capsule prior to launch.

Post-landing, the astronauts will get inside the capsule to rehearse hatch opening, and exiting the capsule at the landing site.

Inside the capsule during the flight will be Mannequin Skywalker, along with more than 25,000 postcards on behalf of Club for the Future, Blue Origin’s nonprofit organization

Location

West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch

Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch has witnessed the launch of 29 rockets, including 0 orbital launch attempts. While Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA, has been the site for 29 rocket launches.

Corn Ranch, commonly referred to as Launch Site One (LSO), is a spaceport owned and operated by Blue Origin which is located approximately 30 miles north of the town of Van Horn, Texas, United States.

Rocket

Blue Origin New Shepard

The New Shepard reusable launch system is a vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing (VTVL), suborbital manned rocket that is being developed by Blue Origin as a commercial system for suborbital space tourism.

Learn more about the New Shepard

Core NS-4

NS4 has successfully landed at Corn Ranch Landing Pad after its second flight. Booster NS-4 last launched 11/22/2024 and has seen 12 successful launches and landings. New Shepard vehicle #4 is the fourth flight vehicle of the New Shepard suborbital rocket. It was used for Blue Origin's first crewed launches.

A sonic boom is likely to occur a few minutes after launch as the booster returns to the launch site. Be prepared for a loud but thrilling experience! Learn more about rocket launch sonic booms

Corn Ranch Landing Pad, West Texas - CR

New Shepard landing site.

Return to Launch Site - RTLS

A return to launch site usually means that after stage separation the booster flips and does a burn back towards the launch site, landing near where it initially launched from.

Agency

Blue Origin

Blue Origin is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight services company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos with its headquarters in Kent, Washington. The company is developing technologies to enable private human access to space with the goal to dramatically lower costs and increase reliability. Blue Origin currently launches its New Shepard sub-orbital vehicle from its West Texas launch site, they are currently constructing a launch pad for their orbital vehicle New Glenn at Cape Canaveral LC-36.