Press Release

Estes and Club for the Future partner to launch New Shepard model rocket

By SpaceRef Editor
August 26, 2021
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Club for the Future, Blue Origin’s foundation, is excited to announce a new collaboration with Estes Industries. Estes is the premier provider of model rockets kits and engines, and has been committed to creating safe, successful rocketry experiences for customers everywhere for more than 60 years. Estes and Club for the Future will launch a series of Blue Origin models and educational content to inspire the next generation of space leaders and explorers.

We are proud to announce the first of this series, the Estes New Shepard model rocket will launch in November. Manufactured by Estes Industries, the model has been reduced to 1/66th scale of Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle to ignite the imagination of families nationwide.

The Estes New Shepard is fully reusable and follows the same flight profile as the actual rocket. The capsule is payload-capable and separates from the booster near its apogee of nearly 400 feet. It then floats back to Earth under a parachute for a gentle touchdown. 

Each box includes a Club for the Future postcard for kids to draw or write their vision of how they see the future of life in space and how rockets will change humanity. They will then mail their personalized postcard directly to Club for the Future where it will fly to space on a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket.  After flight, the postcard will be returned with an official ‘Flown to Space’ stamp as a unique keepsake. 

Additionally, a suite of free hands-on STEM activities, designed in collaboration with middle school teachers, will be available in the coming months for kids to further explore the science of flight, design engineering, and data literacy in a fun way. 

“Our hope is that the new Estes New Shepard model sparks the imagination of future space explorers and inspires them to carve out their own role in helping to invent the future of life in space,” said Josef Reinke, Director, Club for the Future.  

“The Estes and Club for the Future collaboration is the next exciting step in Estes’s long legacy of supporting STEM education, and the Estes New Shepard is the perfect vehicle to inspire future generations,” said Mallory Langford, President, Estes Industries.

The Estes New Shepard will be available for purchase this holiday for $69.99 or pre-order today at the Blue Store and Estesrockets.com.

CONTACT: 
Mallory Langford
pr@estesrockets.com

SpaceRef staff editor.