Tag: Blue Origin
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Paintings, not people, take the spotlight in Blue Origin’s latest suborbital space trip
Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital spaceship lifts off for an uncrewed research mission. (Blue Origin via YouTube) A little more than a month after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took a rocket ride, his Blue Origin space venture sent another New Shepard suborbital spaceship to the final frontier — but this time the high-profile payloads were…
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Blue Origin launches NS-17 suborbital science mission
A month after New Shepard’s first flight carrying people into space, a science flight without crew onboard has launched from Blue Origin’s facility near Van Horn, Texas. The flight, the fourth of the year for the New Shepard program, was originally scheduled for August 25, 2021, but was delayed due to a payload integration issue.…
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Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship joins the pantheon of model rockets
Estes’ New Shepard model rocket uses standard model-rocket launch equipment, including a single C6-3 or C6-5 engine. (Estes Industries via YouTube) Rocket fans will soon be able to follow in Jeff Bezos’ footsteps when it comes to ownership of a suborbital New Shepard space vehicle. Just be warned that everything will be scaled down: The…
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United Launch Alliance rolls out Vulcan pathfinder for fueling tests
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan pathfinder has rolled out to SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral for tank testing as part of a continuing campaign towards the rocket’s maiden flight. While this booster will not be the first to fly, it will have its pathfinder BE-4 engines replaced with flight engines once testing is complete in order to…
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NASA agrees to pause SpaceX lunar contract until November after Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin files suit
An artist’s rendering shows SpaceX’s Starship rocket ship on the moon. (SpaceX Illustration) NASA paused its contract with SpaceX to take astronauts back to the moon pending the initial outcome of a lawsuit filed by Blue Origin. The voluntary stay will expire on Nov. 1, two weeks after oral arguments are set to take place…
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Blue Origin leaving humans behind as next mission will carry scientific and research payloads
(Blue Origin Photo) Jeff Bezos and his crewmates won’t be hopping aboard for a suborbital redo on the next New Shepard mission. The Amazon founder’s space venture announced Wednesday that the 17th flight of the reusable rocket ship will carry scientific and research payloads. Blue Origin scheduled the launch for 6:35 a.m. PT on Aug.…
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Bezos’ Blue Origin sues NASA for giving Musk’s SpaceX sole contract to return astronauts to moon
Jeff Bezos shows a mockup of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar lander. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) After focusing for much of his career on delivering packages to doorsteps, Jeff Bezos is turning his attention to delivering humans to the moon, and on Monday his commercial space venture showed just how seriously it’s taking its…
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GAO denies Blue Origin’s protest of NASA’s lunar lander contract award to SpaceX
An artist’s conception shows the human landing system that was being developed by Blue Origin and its industry partners in the foreground, and a cargo lander in the background. (Blue Origin Illustration) The Government Accountability Office today turned back protests from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and Alabama-based Dynetics, ruling that NASA was within…
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Bezos vs. Branson vs. Musk: A reality check on the billionaire space race — and space station sci-fi
Blue Origin suborbital spaceflier Mark Bezos throws a ball to Oliver Daemen in zero-G while Wally Funk floats above in the New Shepard capsule. (Blue Origin Photo) The state of commercial space travel is changing so quickly that even science-fiction authors are struggling to keep up. That’s what Time magazine’s editor at large, Jeffrey Kluger, found…
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Jeff Bezos offers to cover $2B more in costs as part of NASA lunar lander deal
An artist’s conception shows the lunar landing system designed by Blue Origin and its partners. (Blue Origin via YouTube) In an open letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Jeff Bezos says his Blue Origin space venture will waive up to $2 billion in payments as part of a deal to build a second lunar landing…