We’ll have to attend one other yr to see Blue Origin’s big orbital rocket get off the bottom.
Blue Origin, which is run by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, introduced right now (Feb. 25) that it is pushing the goal date for the debut launch of its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket from late 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022.
“This up to date maiden flight goal follows the current House Power determination to not choose New Glenn for the Nationwide Safety House Launch (NSSL) Part 2 Launch Providers Procurement (LSP),” Blue Origin representatives wrote in an update today.
Associated: NASA taps Blue Origin’s New Glenn to launch future missions
Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman misplaced out to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance in that national-security launch determination, which the House Power announced in August 2020.
New Glenn is a two-stage rocket that stands 322 ft tall (98 meters) and is known as after NASA astronaut John Glenn, who in February 1962 turned the primary American to circle Earth. (Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the primary particular person total, pulling off the feat in April 1961.)
The rocket shall be able to launching 50 tons (45 metric tons) to low Earth orbit when it is up and working, in response to its specifications page. Bezos has stated he hopes New Glenn will fly individuals in addition to payloads.
Every New Glenn first stage shall be able to launching 25 missions, Blue Origins representatives say. Shortly after liftoff, the booster will come again to Earth and land on a ship at sea, as we have already seen the primary levels of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets do.
Such reuse is vital to Blue Origin’s total imaginative and prescient, which entails serving to humanity extend its footprint out into the final frontier. For instance, the corporate’s New Shepard rocket-capsule combo, which is designed to take individuals and payloads to suborbital house, is totally reusable. One New Shepard car has flown seven uncrewed check flights, acing its touchdown every time. (New Shepard is just not but operational, however its first crewed spaceflights could happen soon.)
Blue Origin continues to make good progress on New Glenn and its launch pad at Cape Canaveral House Power Station in Florida, firm representatives wrote in right now’s replace. The corporate has already scored New Glenn launch contracts with Eutelsat, Mu House, OneWeb, Sky Good JSAT and Telesat, as Space News noted. And NASA lately made New Glenn eligible to compete for contracts below the company’s Launch Providers II program, which applies to launches by way of December 2027.
“New Glenn is continuing to satisfy its present industrial contracts, pursue a big and rising industrial market, and enter into new civil house launch contracts,” Blue Origin representatives wrote in right now’s replace. “We hope to launch NSSL payloads sooner or later, and stay dedicated to serving the U.S. nationwide protection mission.”
Mike Wall is the writer of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide in regards to the seek for alien life. Observe him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Fb.
Source link
