Tag: Blue Origin
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A nearly 20-year ban on human spaceflight regulations is set to expire
In 2004, Congress passed a law that established a moratorium on federal safety regulations for commercial astronauts and space tourists riding to space on new privately owned rockets and spacecraft. The idea was to allow time for new space companies to establish themselves before falling under the burden of regulations, an eventuality that spaceflight startups…
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NASA gives Blue Origin $34.7M to work on technology for making solar cells on moon
The Blue Alchemist project aims to produce solar cells from lunar materials. (Blue Origin Photo) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has won $34.7 million in funding from NASA to support the development of a system that could produce solar cells on the moon from materials that are available on site. The Blue Alchemist project…
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Space Force releases NSSL phase three second draft
The United States Space Force (USSF) recently released a second draft of a request for proposals (RFP) for the forthcoming phase three of the national security space launch (NSSL) program. Phase three will cover launch orders over a five-year period starting in October 2024 — the start of fiscal year (FY) 2025 — and has…
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Amazon unveils plans for $120 million satellite processing facility for its internet constellation
A rendering of Amazon’s proposed satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The 100,000-square-foot facility will be used to prepare satellites for its Project Kuiper internet constellation for launch aboard rockets from ULA and Blue Origin. On Friday, online retail giant amazon will join with members of Space Florida to reveal its plans for…
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Someone new will join the US military’s roster of launch contractors
The US Space Force, long content with using just one or two contractors to carry the military’s most vital satellites into orbit, has announced it will seek a third provider for national security launch services in its next multibillion-dollar round of rocket procurement. This is good news for Blue Origin, which has long sought to…
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Rocket Report: Rocket Lab’s next step in reuse, Blue Origin engine explodes
Welcome to Edition 6.02 of the Rocket Report! I’m on my third week at Ars, and the space beat is as busy as ever. Going forward, Eric and I will alternate work on the Rocket Report every other week. SpaceX broke its own booster reuse record this week, and a Chinese company made history with…
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Inaugural Vulcan Launch Targeting Late 2023 After Anomalies
United Launch Alliance (ULA) says despite recent anomalies involving their Centaur V upper stage and the BE-4 engines built by Blue Origin, Vulcan should still fly this year, although behind schedule. Vulcan is ULA’s successor to the Atlas V and Delta IV heavy-lift rocket families, both of which are scheduled to be retired. The new…
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Blue Origin’s next-gen BE-4 rocket engine fails dramatically during testing in Texas
Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine undergoes a test firing in Texas in 2019. (Blue Origin File Photo) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture confirmed that one of its BE-4 rocket engines suffered a significant anomaly during testing at its West Texas facility in late June. The incident first came to light today in a report…
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Seattle-area Space Summit features NASA leader and hints at new manufacturing institute
Participants at the Washington State Space Summit were able to get inside of an exact replica of the Blue Origin crew capsule. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) Sen. Maria Cantwell and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson met Wednesday at the Washington State Space Summit to hash out what’s needed to grow and strengthen the Pacific Northwest’s…
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Blue Update: New Glenn testing hardware at the Cape as New Shepard closes in on return to flight
Recently, Blue Origin has completed several milestones in its programs, as it inches closer to a debut flight of its New Glenn rocket. The successful BE-4 firings below the Vulcan rocket, modifications on pad and infrastructure, and winning the contract for the Artemis V lander have put Blue Origin in a better position than their…