Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos once pledged that if his company's first rocket to reach space and land vertically back on Earth survived an abort test then he would "reward it for its service" by putting it into a museum.
Eight years later, Bezos has made good on that promise and then some.
"There is no better final landing pad for New Shepard than the Smithsonian," said Bezos in a statement. "We are honored and grateful."
The New Shepard booster that became the world's first launch vehicle to place a payload into space before landing upright on its legs has been delivered to the Smithsonian. Further, a mockup of Blue Origin's crew capsule will go on display at the same time as the rocket at the National Air and Space Museum, to later be replaced by by the still-flying "RSS First Step," the spacecraft that has flown 43 people to space (to date), including Bezos himself.
The Blue Origin artifacts will debut to the public in two renovated and reimagined galleries opening in the museum's Washington, D.C. flagship building in 2026.
