Blue Origin scrubs launch carrying gravity experiments from Florida students, researchers

NS-23 scrubbed due to weather in Texas

VAN HORN, Texas – A New Shepard mission that sought to carry dozens of small research projects to space Wednesday morning was scrubbed due to weather at Blue Origin’s west Texas launch site.

NS-23 is a dedicated payloads flight with 36 parcels on board, the company said. Most of the payloads were created at K-12 schools, universities and STEM facilities, and two of them are Florida-made.

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Principal Investigators Rob Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul at the University of Florida collaborated with the University of Wisconsin to contribute the “Biological Imaging in Support of Suborbital Science” (BISS) experiment, testing precise measurement and interpretation of the body’s reaction to suborbital conditions. According to Blue Origin, NS-23 will be the fifth flight of a BISS payload on New Shepard.

At NeoCity Academy in Kissimmee, six students aim to put a three-minute test on New Shepard to examine the effects of microgravity on ultrasonic waves. While the goals of the high schoolers’ experiment were not as acutely described as those of the UF researchers, Blue Origin said the group’s investigation “could lead to further future discoveries about other types of waves.”

The mission would have targeted a launch window that opened at 9:30 a.m. EDT. Blue Origin tweeted about an hour ahead of the window that the launch was scrubbed and a new date and time would be announced soon.


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About the Author:

Brandon, a UCF grad, joined the ClickOrlando team in November 2021. Before joining News 6, Brandon worked at WDBO.

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