Blue Origin rocket flies 30 payloads into space — and back

Blue Origin’s suborbital rocket took a 10-minute flight into space and back Tuesday with science experiments on board to support NASA’s new moon program.

The company’s New Shepard rocket lifted off from a west Texas launch pad just after 10 a.m. Central. The crew capsule separated from the booster about 2 minutes later, and the latter soon made a powered touchdown at a nearby landing pad.

The capsule, carrying 30 science payloads, landed in the desert 10 minutes after liftoff, slowed by parachutes and a final nudge from its retrorockets. Blue Origin builds and tests its rocket engines in Huntsville. Some of its engines are also used on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rockets.