RSS Kármán Line

{{infobox individual space vehicle

|name = RSS Kármán Line

|type = Space capsule

|class = New Shepard crew capsule

|owner = Blue Origin

|manufacturer = Blue Origin

|rocket = New Shepard

|location = Van Horn, Texas

|first_flight_date = 23 October 2024

|first_flight = Blue Origin NS-27

|last_flight_date = Active

|last_flight =

|flights = 2

|previous = RSS First Step

}}

RSS Kármán Line (Reusable Space Ship Kármán Line) is a New Shepard space capsule, built and operated by American spaceflight company Blue Origin.{{cite web |title=Blue Origin Debuts Second Human-Rated New Shepard Rocket To Meet Demand |url=https://www.blueorigin.com/news/blue-origin-debuts-second-human-rated-new-shepard-rocket |website=Blue Origin}} It is the fourth New Shepard capsule to fly to space, and is slated to be the second to fly passengers, after RSS First Step. The capsule's first uncrewed flight was the NS-27 mission on 23 October 2024, which was also the maiden flight of New Shepard booster NS5.{{cite news |last1=Wall |first1=Mike |title=Blue Origin launches 2nd human-rated New Shepard rocket, nails landing (video) |url=https://www.space.com/blue-origin-new-shepard-vehicle-debut-ns-27-launch |access-date=26 November 2024 |work=Space.com |date=23 October 2024 |language=en}}

History

RSS Kármán Line, the fourth New Shepard capsule, was built by Blue Origin to "better meet growing customer demand" for New Shepard flights. The spacecraft is named after the Kármán line, an altitude of {{cvt|100|km}} and the conventional definition of the edge of space, which the capsule crosses at the apogee of its sub-orbital spaceflight.{{cite news |last1=Tribou |first1=Richard |last2=Sentinel |first2=Orlando |title=Blue Origin constructs new New Shepard rocket-capsule combo to expand human launches |url=https://phys.org/news/2024-10-blue-shepard-rocket-capsule-combo.html |access-date=26 November 2024 |work=phys.org |date=7 October 2024 |language=en}} The capsule first flew on the uncrewed NS-27 verification mission, which launched on 23 October 2024 carrying twelve customer payloads, after issues pushed back the launch from 7 October 2024.{{Cite tweet |user=blueorigin |number=1842196161177833911 |date=4 October 2024 |title=New Shepard #NS27 is an uncrewed verification flight debuting our second human-rated vehicle to meet growing customer demand. The launch window opens on Monday, October 7, at 8:00 AM CDT / 13:00 UTC: https://bit.ly/3XPzxrX|access-date=4 October 2024}} {{cite news |last1=Wall |first1=Mike |title=Blue Origin delays debut launch of 2nd human-rated New Shepard rocket due to GPS glitch |url=https://www.space.com/blue-origin-new-shepard-vehicle-debut-ns-27-launch |access-date=14 October 2024 |work=Space.com |date=4 October 2024 |language=en}}

The first crewed flight of the capsule was NS-31, which was the first all-female crew since Valentina Tereshkova's solo 1963 flight on Vostok 6.{{cite news |last1=Rice |first1=Doyle |title=Historic all-woman space flight to include Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/27/historic-all-woman-space-flight/80508217007/ |access-date=27 February 2025 |work=USA TODAY |date=27 February 2025}}