Blue Origin's launch vehicles

[selvaarchi]

"Blue Origin preparing to enter the orbital arena"

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020...orbital-arena/

Blue Origin has been making significant progress on the structures, systems, propulsion, and infrastructure supporting their New Glenn heavy lift rocket. Though the company is traditionally quite secretive about most of their operations, they have recently been revealing more and more information as they work towards a first flight date of no earlier than 2021. They also won through as part of the Human Landing System (HLS) award winners as its goals move from the suborbital, through to Low Earth Orbit and beyond.

[selvaarchi]

"Blue Origin trying to convince the Air Force to continue to invest in New Glenn"

https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-tr...-in-new-glenn/

The Air Force in August selected United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as its launch providers for the next five years. Blue Origin competed for the job but lost and, as a result, the Air Force plans to terminate a $500 million contract Blue Origin received in 2018 to advance the development of its New Glenn rocket.

The company is moving forward with New Glenn with the goal to debut the vehicle in 2021 and pursue commercial work, but it is trying to make the case to the Air Force that it should continue to fund the vehicle and the ground infrastructure that it would need to be certified for national security missions.

“We’re discussing with the Air Force the path forward for certification,” Megan Mitchell, Blue Origin’s director of government and legislative affairs, told SpaceNews.

The $500 million Launch Service Agreement contract that the Air Force awarded in October 2018 was spread over six years, and would have continued through 2024 had Blue Origin won a launch services procurement contract. The Air Force from the beginning said the LSAs would be terminated with those companies that did not win a launch services contract.

[docmordrid]

The $500 million Launch Service Agreement contract that the Air Force awarded in October 2018 was spread over six years, and would have continued through 2024 had Blue Origin won a launch services procurement contract.

Which they didn't, largely due to their ongoing problems with the BE-4 engine. The DoD needs heavy lift launchers qualified before Delta IV Heavy retires, roughly 2023. Falcon Heavy and Delta IV Heavy already are, and Vulcan-Centaur will fly well before New Glenn.

As it is BE-4 Block 1 is does not seem reusable, and if so this relegates it to expendable use on Vulcan-Centaur. New Glenn requires reusability, likely why they're talking Block 2. Blue Origin has been hiring new people for Block 2's development, but the timeline to completion is uncertain.

DoD doesn't like uncertainty, which is likely why Blue didn't win a bid.

[Garrison]

Which they didn't, largely due to their ongoing problems with the BE-4 engine. The DoD needs heavy lift launchers qualified before Delta IV Heavy retires, roughly 2023. Falcon Heavy and Delta IV Heavy already are, and Vulcan-Centaur will fly well before New Glenn.

As it is BE-4 Block 1 is does not seem reusable, and if so this relegates it to expendable use on Vulcan-Centaur. New Glenn requires reusability, likely why they're talking Block 2. Blue Origin has been hiring new people for Block 2's development, but the timeline to completion is uncertain.

DoD doesn't like uncertainty, which is likely why Blue didn't win a bid.

It is remarkable how little progress Blue Origin seems to be making. The BE-4 isn't close to ready while the Raptor is ready to get at least 15km off the ground.

[Roger E. Moore]

Blue Origin creates advisory board after losing out on gov't contracts.

https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-cr...dvisory-board/

[Garrison]

Blue Origin creates advisory board after losing out on gov't contracts.

https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-cr...dvisory-board/

Who should advise them to spend less time getting advice and more time building working hardware.

[docmordrid]

Not a surprise, things have not been going well.

COO of Jeff Bezos' space venture Blue Origin is leaving to pursue other opportunities

The chief operating officer of Jeff Bezos' private space company Blue Origin is leaving, the company confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday.

Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith wrote in an e-mail to the company that COO Terry Benedict's last day will be Friday, Dec. 3, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. While those people said Smith did not elaborate in the e-mail as to why Benedict is leaving, Blue Origin confirmed his departure to CNBC.
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His departure comes with the company behind schedule on several pieces of its ambitious portfolio of rockets and engines. Blue Origin is seeking to compete against the likes of Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk's SpaceX in the sectors of sub-orbital space tourism and heavy lift rockets, respectively.
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The company also missed out in the latest round Pentagon launch contracts, with SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) splitting the awards made in August. Blue Origin had bid its New Glenn rocket, which is in development. Originally scheduled to launch in 2020, the company now expects New Glenn's inaugural launch no earlier than late 2021.

Blue Origin's flagship BE-4 engine, which powers both New Glenn and ULA's Vulcan rocket, has seen delays in development. An issue with the BE-4 turbopumps was identified earlier this year, but ULA CEO Tory Bruno three months later said that the problem was "sorted out."

[Roger E. Moore]

One of the four companies picked to go to the Moon and retreive samples, Lunar Outpost, is supposed to use the Blue Moon rocket from Blue Origin.

https://spacenews.com/nasa-selects-f...ple-purchases/

[Garrison]

It's almost like Blue Origin is just Bezos' hobby rather than a company actually intended to deliver working hardware. At the very least they need to start getting people flying on the New Shepard to generate some positive PR and show they can actually bring a project to completion.

[Roger E. Moore]

Blue Origin continues work on BE-7 lunar lander engine

QUOTE: Blue Origin has achieved a new milestone in the development of the engine that will power the lunar lander it seeks to provide for NASA’s Artemis program. The company announced Dec. 4 that it started a fourth series of hotfire tests of the thrust chamber for the BE-7 engine. That thrust chamber was fired for 20 seconds on a test stand at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where the company did previous tests of the engine.

https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-co...lander-engine/

[publiusr]

It's almost like Blue Origin is just Bezos' hobby rather than a company actually intended to deliver working hardware. At the very least they need to start getting people flying on the New Shepard to generate some positive PR and show they can actually bring a project to completion.

No fire in the belly... too many “yes” men.

Give it to poor Gary Hudson

[Roger E. Moore]

NASA has awarded a NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract to Blue Origin and their New Glenn launch service in accordance with the contract's on-ramp provision. The New Glenn launch service will be available to NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) to use for future missions in accordance with the on-ramp provision of NLS II.

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/N...vices_999.html

[Roger E. Moore]

More on the above story. NASA has added New Glenn, the large launch vehicle under development by Blue Origin, to the list of vehicles eligible to compete for future agency missions. NASA announced Dec. 16 it awarded a launch services contract to Blue Origin, adding New Glenn to its NASA Launch Services (NLS) 2 contract vehicle as part of an annual “on-ramp” process. NASA uses the NLS 2 contract to purchase launches for spacecraft missions. Being added to NLS 2 does not guarantee a vehicle any contracts, but instead makes it eligible to compete for missions. Vehicles on NLS 2 include the Antares, Pegasus and Taurus rockets from Northrop Grumman, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, and United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 and Delta 4. Some missions, such as high-value payloads with low risk tolerance, are restricted to launchers with a proven flight record. Blue Origin nonetheless welcomed the news.

https://spacenews.com/blue-origins-n...unch-contract/

[Roger E. Moore]

Blue Origin preparing for next New Shepard flight. Temporary flight restrictions published by the Federal Aviation Administration Jan. 12 will close airspace above Blue Origin’s West Texas test site from Jan. 14 through Jan. 17, from 9:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern each day. Such airspace closures in the past have been linked to test flights of the company’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle. Blue Origin has yet to announce plans to conduct a test flight. A company source, speaking on background, confirmed the company was planning a New Shepard flight as soon as Jan. 14, but offered no other details about the flight.

https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-pr...hepard-flight/

[Roger E. Moore]

Watch Blue Origin fly its first capsule that’s designed to send people to space and back. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is planning to live-stream the first test flight of its first passenger-friendly space capsule on Thursday. If all goes according to plan, Blue Origin will launch a never-before-flown New Shepard crew capsule and booster from its West Texas facility on an uncrewed suborbital space trip as early as 9:45 a.m. CT (7:45 a.m. PT), with coverage streamed via Blue Origin’s website and YouTube. Coverage is due to begin 30 minutes before launch, with the precise timing dependent on weather and technical readiness.

https://www.geekwire.com/2021/watch-...-people-space/

[bknight]

Nice liftoff, reentry and landing a bit off center. Capsule landing a short time later under the blue parachutes. Everything seemed normal from my perspective.

[Trebuchet]

So stick some people in it, already!

[Garrison]

Nice liftoff, reentry and landing a bit off center. Capsule landing a short time later under the blue parachutes. Everything seemed normal from my perspective.

Sorry but, no there was no 're-entry', maximum height was 65 miles, so sure they hit the Karman Line but calling it a re-entry is insanely generous.

[Garrison]

So stick some people in it, already!

Or better still, get a New Glenn on the pad.

[Roger E. Moore]

Watch: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin livestream rocket launch in West Texas (see video link in article)

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/...exas-thursday/

Liftoff about minute 51 in broadcast, landing of booster and capsule shown.

[docmordrid]

Their BE-3 engine continues to impress. Hopefully they can start flying passengers this year.

[Nicolas]

That all seemed to go according to plan. I couldn't see the retrothrusters working on the capsule at landing, but apparently everything went fine.

[Roger E. Moore]

The price of a ticket to suborbital space is not yet known, with estimates ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 per seat.

Watch Live: Blue Origin Launches ‘Mannequin Skywalker’ to Suborbital Space
https://gizmodo.com/watch-live-blue-...ker-1846057351

===

Photo of inside of New Shepard capsule:

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin test flies latest upgrades to its space tourism rocket New Shepard
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/14/watc...ard-ns-14.html

[publiusr]

New Armstrong was what I was hoping for.

[selvaarchi]

"Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin aims to fly first passengers on its space tourism rocket as early as April"

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/14/jeff...-by-april.html

After years in development, Jeff Bezos’ private space company Blue Origin aims to carry its first passengers on a ride to the edge of space in a few months.

Blue Origin on Thursday completed the fourteenth test flight of its New Shepard rocket booster and capsule. Called NS-14, the successful test flight featured the debut of a new booster and an upgraded capsule.

Beyond the upgrades, CNBC has learned that NS-14 also marked one of the last remaining steps before Blue Origin flies its first crew to space.

[cannongray]

Some day Blue Origin has to launch the rocket. We've seen the working rockets, test launches, the space center. What we haven't seen is actual hardware going into orbit. They have set the expectation so high by promising so much for so long.. Blue Origin does have to actually launch something

[Nicolas]

They launched their suborbital rocket yesterday. Which is far from their ambitious orbital plans, but it is working hardware at least.

[selvaarchi]

Mors information on mission NS-14

https://www.leonarddavid.com/blue-or...with-upgrades/

For this mission, the crew capsule will be outfitted with upgrades for the astronaut experience as the program nears human space flight. The capsule will be outfitted with six seats, including one occupied by Mannequin Skywalker.

Those upgrades also include improvements to environmental features such as acoustics and temperature regulation inside the capsule, crew display panels, and speakers with a microphone and push-to-talk button at each seat.

In addition, the mission will also test a number of astronaut communication and safety alert systems.

[Roger E. Moore]

Blue Origin aims to fly first passengers into space as early as April. The flight was the first of two “stable configuration” test flights, people familiar with Blue Origin’s plans told CNBC. Stable configuration means that the company plans to avoid making major changes between this flight and the next. Additionally, those people said that Blue Origin aims to launch the second test flight within six weeks, or by late February, and the first crewed flight six weeks after that, or by early April.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/spac...-april-rcna224

[bknight]

Sorry but, no there was no 're-entry', maximum height was 65 miles, so sure they hit the Karman Line but calling it a re-entry is insanely generous.

I don't believe you are using the common definition of outer space:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosp...0outer%20space.

The Kármán line, located within the thermosphere at an altitude of 100 km, is commonly used to define the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.

So yes there was a reentry.