Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Want a daily digest of the top Nashville news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Nashville newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Columbus news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Columbus newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Dallas news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Dallas newsletter.
Sign up for Axios NW Arkansas
Stay up-to-date on the most important and interesting stories affecting NW Arkansas, authored by local reporters
The New Shepard booster coming in for a landing. Photo: Blue Origin
Blue Origin launched an uncrewed test on Tuesday of the company's New Shepard space system designed to take paying tourists to the edge of space.
Why it matters: This suborbital New Shepard launch is the first of the year for the Jeff Bezos-owned company.
The state of play: New Shepard took flight at 9:36 a.m. ET Tuesday from Blue Origin's West Texas facility carrying about a dozen experiments for the company's customers.
- One of those experiments was testing out technology that could one day be used to sample asteroids in deep space.
- “While current asteroid sample return missions visit single asteroids and collect samples from one or two locations on their surface, a future mission carrying dozens of micro-sampler landers like these could return samples from various locations on numerous asteroids,” Alex Parker, a planetary astronomer involved in the experiment, said in a statement.
Between the lines: Another experiment was a Blue Origin landing sensor the company hopes could be used for future missions to the Moon.
- The company is leading a team competing to build a human-rated lander for NASA's Artemis program.
- "Using New Shepard to simulate landing on the Moon is an exciting precursor to what the Artemis program will bring to America," Bob Smith, Blue Origin's CEO, said in a statement.
The big picture: Blue Origin isn't the only company aiming to send customers to suborbital space in the near future. Virgin Galactic is also planning to fly private citizens aboard its spaceplane.
Go deeper: Watch a replay of the launch webcast