Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to resume New Shepard launches

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is set to launch the New Shepard rocket on December 18, following a fourteen-month hiatus after a failed mission in 2022.

Yahoo Finance’s Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton weigh in on this launch and what this non-passenger mission would entail.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

Video Transcript

JULIE HYMAN: Let's talk about another billionaire, shall we, and his venture, Blue Origin? The space technology company founded by Jeff Bezos is preparing to launch its New Shepard rocket for the first time in over a year. The company saying on social media that it's targeting a launch window that opens on December 18 here. This, it sounds like, is going to be a cargo mission that's going to carry research and scientific payloads. And it's had about a 14-month hiatus here because it did have a failure during a cargo mission back in September of 2022.

JOSH LIPTON: Yeah so it sounded like there was that malfunction. And now from these-- it sounds like changes have made, those issues have been addressed, and they're ready for liftoff. We should note that the Blue Origin apparently still needs the green light from the FAA. And it isn't clear based on the reports I'm reading that that's happened yet. But the return mission from what I'm reading, as you noted, that will carry payloads, not passengers, though maybe this is the first step to the return of that as well.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah. It has flown passengers in the past with New Shepard at 31 people past the edge of space.

JOSH LIPTON: If given the opportunity, would you go-- would you take a space tourism flight? No? Why not?

JULIE HYMAN: I'm all set.

JOSH LIPTON: No.

JULIE HYMAN: I don't feel like it's a safe endeavor as of yet. I'm good.

JOSH LIPTON: No, really. OK, fair enough.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah.

JOSH LIPTON: Yeah. I wouldn't either, but I get seasick in bathtubs. So it's not going to work for me.