Blue Origin

The lander access ladder is a bit cheap. With 1/6 the gravity and with that slope angle, a motorized tray won't drain hard any battery and save precious time during crew and material transfer in and off the module (hence would spare other hard to bring on site consumables like LOx and... Electrical generation).
To me the tradeoff would look obvious.
 
publiusr said:
This might be what saves Dream Chaser as well.

Elon has created a situation where it didn’t matter who won the election…neither Biden/Harris nor the Donald are SpaceX allies now.

Bezos is brilliant.

If Trump had been in attendance with a successful New Glenn test flight…I don’t think Bezos would have pressed for SLS getting the axe immediately, knowing Trump needs Red States to remain loyal.

Elon tried to use his influence to get Trump—who at least pretends to be a populist—to impose more Draconian cuts and it ended badly. A more ecumenical approach could have avoided all this…the war between Old and New Space harming all parties.

I hope Bezos can work with the Dream Chaser guys…I could see NG launch a Stoke product.

If the new NASA Chief is Air Force, having a spaceplane and reusable hydrogen upper stages BO doesn’t have to develop would make for a far smoother marriage.

This is actually the best possible news for all non-SpaceX NewSpace firms…the VC crowd—seeing the recent break up—may be more forthcoming with funds…now that the SpaceX juggernaut…isn’t.

America eventually will have all-private space access (over time)…without having to worry about another Howard Hughes —with actual nine-inch nails—scandalized by something seen on Love Connection.
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What are you smoking?
 
publiusr said:
I don't smoke period. My late parents did...co-workers...
Click to expand...

I've never smoked (Although my two brothers have in the past but they've quit) and my parents (Who're now in their mid-80s) never have and they're still alive.

Anyway I think that another right-wing libertarian multi-billionaire getting his hooks in isn't a good idea (Even if he's not an obvious junkie like Musk is).
 
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I wouldn’t call Bezos right-wing or libertarian, myself (and they aren’t synonymous regardless).

More on topic, is anyone aware of Blue having made any sales of Blue Ring missions yet?
 
No scuttlebutt that I have heard.

Recent static test problems likely have cast a pall over the industry.

Yes, Falcon keeps making good—but it might as well be invisible to moneymen who treat aerospace like vampires treat garlic.
 
publiusr said:
No scuttlebutt that I have heard.
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Where would you hear any of that?
publiusr said:
Recent static test problems likely have cast a pall over the industry.
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wrong.
a. There isn't any "pall" over the industry. The problems only affect the projects they occur on. Blue, ULA, SpaceX, etc don't care about SLS problems.
b. How would you see any if there was?

You have to be in the industry to see it. You have to be at one of physical sites. You have to interact with actual employees.
Sitting behind a keyboard isn't going to give your insight.
publiusr said:
Yes, Falcon keeps making good—but it might as well be invisible to moneymen who treat aerospace like vampires treat garlic.
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Huh? Why would Falcon need moneymen? Why would moneymen approach Falcon now? It is self sustaining and with Starlink providing Starship some funds. Falcon got its support from moneymen long ago.
 
Byeman said:
Where would you hear any of that?

wrong.
a. There isn't any "pall" over the industry. The problems only affect the projects they occur on. Blue, ULA, SpaceX, etc don't care about SLS problems.
b. How would you see any if there was?

You have to be in the industry to see it. You have to be at one of physical sites. You have to interact with actual employees.
Sitting behind a keyboard isn't going to give your insight.

Huh? Why would Falcon need moneymen? Why would moneymen approach Falcon now? It is self sustaining and with Starlink providing Starship some funds. Falcon got its support from moneymen long ago.
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Not to mention, both SpaceX and Blue Origin could be funded by the moneymen of moneymen if need be.
 
Sferrin said:
Not to mention, both SpaceX and Blue Origin could be funded by the moneymen of moneymen if need be.
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Even so, they rely in both public and private finance to advance their work.

If they lost the public side, private finance might get wary - or demand greater returns for the risk. Company valuation would likely shrink - and the billionaires, who are such because they have billion-rated assets - NOT because they’ve safes filled with billions of dollars - will find their wealth decreased, and possible on a descending spiral…
 
SpaceX’s non-government contracts are a majority of its revenue, and Amazon stock form the basis for Bezos’s wealth. SpaceX’s valuation is driven by Starlink, and while Blue is competing for government business, the majority of their funding has come from Bezos, in the form of selling Amazon stock. Given that both companies are also private, there’s not much outside finance can do given the billionaires’ control over voting stock. Blue does not have the reliable outside revenue that SpaceX does at present, so it will remain reliant on Bezos for years to come.
 
Bezos and Musk are more bulletproof, sure—but what I am worried about are how even well funded projects that fail static tests may spook venture capitalists that small NewSpace firms rely upon. I should have spelled that out.

China’s pseudo-private firms have perhaps a more forgiving environment. NewSpace here is very happy that Space Force funding is up so they don’t have to beg the Mark Cubans over here.

Entrepreneurs that do well on SHARK TANK mostly offer widgets and such. Having watched that program for years—it seems like more noble firms get told no more often than not.

Sell a bit of brightly colored consumer something-or-other’s and Ms QVC is all ears.

They are captivated by people’s life stories and bubbling personalities as much as the product.

Imagine anti-gravity was invented…by Jim.

Mr. Wonderful: “Antigravity? So the market..
Byeman: “What do you think it’s for!?”

Barbara Corcoran: “Have you the EBITDA?”

…

…

no
 
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OK, I am officially ***SICK AND TIRED*** of all of this utterly bizarre fanboi suborbital crap. Any stone, ball, or other object you throw upwards on this planet is *suborbital*. And you know what I just did? I briefly took a perhaps one inch maximum altitude foot powered hop in my office, so does that qualify me as a suborbital space passenger? Because by the qualitative rules of physics, it does. And yes, of course I am aware of the Karman Line, but it's just a little bit like holding you nose in the ocean for 10 seconds and calling yourself a deep sea diver. Achieving a stable orbit is the ***hard*** divide - everything else is just billionaire bling bullshit...
 
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publiusr said:
Bezos and Musk are more bulletproof, sure—but what I am worried about are how even well funded projects that fail static tests may spook venture capitalists that small NewSpace firms rely upon. I should have spelled that out.
Click to expand...
a. You need to spell out every post you make because you make references that most people don't get. And you assume others think like you.
b. Current events are not going to sway venture capitalists, they know what they are getting into.

publiusr said:
China’s pseudo-private firms have perhaps a more forgiving environment. ”
Click to expand...
Unsubstantiated

publiusr said:
Entrepreneurs that do well on SHARK TANK mostly offer widgets and such. Having watched that program for years—it seems like more noble firms get told no more often than not.

Sell a bit of brightly colored consumer something-or-other’s and Ms QVC is all ears.

They are captivated by people’s life stories and bubbling personalities as much as the product.

Imagine anti-gravity was invented…by Jim.

Mr. Wonderful: “Antigravity? So the market..
Byeman: “What do you think it’s for!?”

Barbara Corcoran: “Have you the EBITDA?”
Click to expand...
It is a TV show and not a reflection of real life

That is one of your problems. You don't know the spaceflight industry and you make unsubstantiated and incorrect assumptions about it from the little information you have.
 
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starviking said:
Even so, they rely in both public and private finance to advance their work.

If they lost the public side, private finance might get wary - or demand greater returns for the risk. Company valuation would likely shrink - and the billionaires, who are such because they have billion-rated assets - NOT because they’ve safes filled with billions of dollars - will find their wealth decreased, and possible on a descending spiral…
Click to expand...
Yes, yes, and a rogue black hole could hit the sun next week and kill us all. In real terms, neither SpaceX or Blue Origin are hurting for money, nor likely to be anytime soon.
 
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martinbayer said:
OK, I am officially ***SICK AND TIRED*** of all of this utterly bizarre fanboi suborbital crap. Any stone, ball, or other object you throw upwards on this planet is *suborbital*. And you know what I just did? I briefly took a perhaps one inch maximum altitude foot powered hop in my office, so does that qualify me as a suborbital space passenger? Because by the qualitative rules of physics, it does. And yes, of course I am aware of the Karman Line, but it's just a little bit like holding you nose in the ocean for 10 seconds and calling yourself a deep sea diver. Achieving a stable orbit is the ***hard*** divide - everything else is just billionaire bling bullshit...
Click to expand...
The worst thing is they keep coming back.
 
Before the skycrane, I remember some folks at NSF talk about an "uncrasher" stage...where a payload would be released to land on the Moon on its own and the uncrasher-stage (now far lighter) to return to an orbit---no Raptors blasting regolith into another rock tornado.

NS similar to that?

I don't think it could land with a heavy capsule (perhaps with a full propellant load the structure is stiffened enough to launch.

The actual lander uses cryogenics above the crew compartment. Might larger skycranes ever be used for human missions--nozzles far above the lunar surface?
 
This thread isn’t generalized to Bezos, though. Your post fits better in the SpaceX thread.
 
Blue Origin is gearing up for the second-ever launch of its powerful New Glenn rocket, which will loft NASA's ESCAPADE mission to Mars.
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The company says it has been working closely with NASA on preparations leading up to New Glenn's next launch, dubbed NG-2, and is targeting no earlier than (NET) Sep. 29. The twin ESCAPADE(Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) probes have been awaiting their turn aboard New Glenn, which was originally slated to carry the satellites on its maiden launch in January. However, NASA opted not to risk a costly mission delay due to the debut liftoff of the new rocket.

Now that the mission has been assigned a NET date, Blue Origin posted on social media to expect "some exciting things" buzzing around New Glenn's pad at Space Launch Complex-36, located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida.
Click to expand...
https://www.space.com/space-explora...pade-mars-probes-2nd-new-glenn-rocket-liftoff
 
publiusr said:
Before the skycrane, I remember some folks at NSF talk about an "uncrasher" stage...where a payload would be released to land on the Moon on its own and the uncrasher-stage (now far lighter) to return to an orbit---no Raptors blasting regolith into another rock tornado.

NS similar to that?

I don't think it could land with a heavy capsule (perhaps with a full propellant load the structure is stiffened enough to launch.

The actual lander uses cryogenics above the crew compartment. Might larger skycranes ever be used for human missions--nozzles far above the lunar surface?
Click to expand...
What would be the *EXACT* mission objective???
 
publiusr said:
Bezos and Musk are more bulletproof, sure—but what I am worried about are how even well funded projects that fail static tests may spook venture capitalists that small NewSpace firms rely upon. I should have spelled that out.

China’s pseudo-private firms have perhaps a more forgiving environment. NewSpace here is very happy that Space Force funding is up so they don’t have to beg the Mark Cubans over here.

Entrepreneurs that do well on SHARK TANK mostly offer widgets and such. Having watched that program for years—it seems like more noble firms get told no more often than not.

Sell a bit of brightly colored consumer something-or-other’s and Ms QVC is all ears.

They are captivated by people’s life stories and bubbling personalities as much as the product.

Imagine anti-gravity was invented…by Jim.

Mr. Wonderful: “Antigravity? So the market..
Byeman: “What do you think it’s for!?”

Barbara Corcoran: “Have you the EBITDA?”

…

…

no
Click to expand...
Don't you worry, sooner rather than later, someone's going to do it, shark tank capitalist motives be followed or not...
 
SpaceX isn't in this Race To Mars - But Blue Origin is! - August 18, 2025

NSF ARTICLE:
Evaluating Blue Origin’s Mars Telecom Orbiter Proposal, written by Ryan Caton August 18, 2025


NSF - NASASpaceflight.com@NASASpaceflight
Taking a deeper look into Blue Origin's recently announced Mars Telecommunications Orbiter proposal for NASA, and why SpaceX hasn't joined the race, as it currently opts to promote its own "Marslink" plans.
Click to expand...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1957456443868656049
View: https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1957456443868656049
 

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