Jeff Bezos has managed to realize his dream of flying into space with a New Origin rocket from Blue Shepard. But netizens on social media instead focused on seeing the shape of the New Shepard rocket that looked like a genitals.
The New Shepard rocket itself consists of two parts, namely a capsule at the top that looks like a mushroom, and a booster that supports it. This capsule is a little more than most rockets, but this is not unique.
"There's a long history of what we call hammerhead rockets where the diameter of the capsule is wider than the amplifier," said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
“If you’re careful, this shape actually has excellent aerodynamics,” he continued.
Just like the nose of a passenger plane or a fighter plane, rocket capsules also come in a variety of shapes. The New Shepard capsule itself is designed to maximize the amount of interior of the cabin so that it can accommodate six passengers and the bottom is made flat so that it can land stably.
"They went through many iterations to produce the perfect shape to provide the most volume, the best windows, and a design that wouldn't kill anyone in it. And this is the shape they chose, the shape of this dome," said astrophysicist Scott Manley.
For the booster, Blue Origin technicians should minimize its mass and make its size as small as possible for easier handling. Because of the need for large cabin space and a more stable booster design, eventually the capsule size had to be made larger than the booster.
This combination makes the New Shepard rocket shape like a rooster, whether intentional or not.
"You can imagine having a meeting where someone asks, 'Do you really want to fly like this?' But I think one technician said, “This is the right amount. This is the optimal configuration. So this is what we're going to go through, "McDowell said.
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