{"id":9277,"date":"2016-06-23T19:23:34","date_gmt":"2016-06-23T19:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=9277&post_type=story"},"modified":"2020-07-01T13:11:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T13:11:16","slug":"blue-origin","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/blue-origin\/","title":{"rendered":"Go for Launch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

Go for Launch<\/h1>\n\t

\n\t\tUCF Professor Joshua Colwell and his team of physics faculty and students watched as their experiment rocketed to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard. 

Summer 2016\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Blue\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tImages Courtesy of Blue Origin<\/em>

On April 2, 2016, a team of UCF scientists made history as their experiment became the first to go to space aboard Blue Origin<\/a>\u2019s New Shepard<\/em>. The project, known as MEDEA and led by Professor Joshua Colwell<\/a>,\r\n examines how space dust builds up to form planets and the rings around \r\nplanets. The experiment is one of several that Colwell, along with Assistant Professor Adrienne Dove<\/a>, Post Doctoral Associate Julie Brisset and a team of UCF students, has worked on. The others include four \r\nexperiments that were conducted on parabolic flights and two on the International Space Station<\/a> \u2014 earning the team another historic distinction: the first to partner with Blue Origin and the ISS to conduct research.

<\/span>Read more on UCF Today<\/a>.\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Blue\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t“We\r\n want to understand how planets form and what conditions are needed to \r\nform planets \u2014 in particular, planets that could be habitable like \r\nEarth.”<\/em>

\u2014 Joshua Colwell, UCF professor<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Blue\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tPost Doctoral Associate Julie Brisset, undergraduate students William Santos and Alexandra Yates, and Professor Joshua Colwell stand in front of the capsule that housed their experiment.\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Blue\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Blue\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t339,138<\/strong>
Height reached in feet (2 miles above the K\u00e1rm\u00e1n line, which marks the boundary of space)
3,635<\/strong>
Feet at which rocket engine was re-ignited for landing
11<\/strong>
Minutes from liftoff to landing
3<\/strong>
Minutes in high-quality microgravity environment
3rd<\/strong>
Test flight of this vehicle to space
1st<\/strong>
Science payload on New Shepard<\/em>\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Blue\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Blue\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tThe New Shepard<\/em> booster successfully completed its vertical landing.\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t