With New Shepard Launch, Space Researchers Become Space Customers

The University of Florida is helping to launch a new era in space research with a plant experiment aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket that blasted off from the company’s West Texas site. 

Rob Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul have been studying how plants respond to stressful environments for decades, placing their genetically engineered mustard plants on high-flying planes, on the space shuttle and on the International Space Station. 

But the Blue Origin project is the first time UF has worked directly with a commercial launch provider, marking an important shift in how universities conduct space-related research, Ferl said. 

“This is one of the first wave of projects where a university is contracting directly with a commercial space flight provider to launch science experiments,” he said. “Previously, NASA handled all of the arrangements.”

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