By Sarah Begley
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket booster New Shepard practiced its in-flight escape on Wednesday morning in West Texas, seeing whether the abort system could successfully separate the crew capsule from the booster in case of an emergency.
The rocket had already been used four times, and Bezos said he would probably put the booster in a museum if it didn’t blow up in Wednesday’s test—which it was widely expected to do. But the booster and the crew capsule both nailed a safe landing, in another step forward for commercial space flight.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- L.A. Fires Show Reality of 1.5°C of Warming
- Home Losses From L.A. Fires Hasten ‘An Uninsurable Future’
- The Women Refusing to Participate in Trump’s Economy
- Bad Bunny On Heartbreak and New Album
- How to Dress Warmly for Cold Weather
- We’re Lucky to Have Been Alive in the Age of David Lynch
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- Column: No One Won The War in Gaza
Contact us at letters@time.com