This was Blue Origin's first launch with humans on board, but they've been flying their rocket for years. Bezos' flight was the 16th launch. They had one unintentional crash in 2015, and a few intentional aborts. Actually during their 15th launch, they did have crew onboard briefly while the rocket was fueled as part of the launch rehearsal, but they exited before liftoff.
SpaceX, for comparison, did not try launching humans until its 85th Falcon 9 mission. While several falcon 9s have failed to land, only one has ever failed in flight, on its 19th flight. The Falcon 9, unlike the New Shepard, is orbital capable.
Comments
This was Blue Origin's first launch with humans on board, but they've been flying their rocket for years. Bezos' flight was the 16th launch. They had one unintentional crash in 2015, and a few intentional aborts. Actually during their 15th launch, they did have crew onboard briefly while the rocket was fueled as part of the launch rehearsal, but they exited before liftoff.
SpaceX, for comparison, did not try launching humans until its 85th Falcon 9 mission. While several falcon 9s have failed to land, only one has ever failed in flight, on its 19th flight. The Falcon 9, unlike the New Shepard, is orbital capable.