Blue Origin
Blue Origin joins U.S. military ‘rocket cargo’ program
Blue Origin has signed a cooperative agreement with the U.S. military to explore the possibility of using its rockets to transport cargo and people around the world.
Crypto entrepreneur to go to space on New Shepard
A controversial Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur revealed he submitted the high bid for a seat on Blue Origin’s first crewed suborbital launch earlier this year and, after missing that flight, is buying a dedicated New Shepard flight in 2022.
SpaceX vs. the world
SpaceX has legions of fans worldwide cheering every minor development. And yet, at times, it can seem like the whole world is taking on SpaceX as the company expands from launch vehicles to satellite broadband to lunar landers.
New launch vehicles face schedule pressure
Executives of two launch companies insisted their vehicles will be ready for their inaugural flights in 2022 while a third acknowledged their new vehicle’s first flight will likely slip beyond the end of next year.
Blue Origin launches first six-person New Shepard suborbital flight
Blue Origin launched its third crewed New Shepard suborbital mission Dec. 11, carrying six people on a brief flight to the edge of space.
FAA to end commercial astronaut wings program
The Federal Aviation Administration will stop awarding commercial astronaut wings at the end of this year, five months after it revised the criteria for receiving the wings.
Tory Bruno: ULA won’t get engines by Christmas, BE-4s coming in early 2022
“We're in the end game now,” Tory Bruno said Dec. 3 on CNBC.
NASA awards funding to three commercial space station concepts
NASA issued awards Dec. 2 valued at more than $400 million to three groups of companies to advance development of commercial space stations, keeping those efforts on track to succeed the International Space Station by the end of the decade despite skepticism from the agency’s inspector general.
Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic select astronauts for future flights
Virgin Galactic has selected the winner of a contest to fly on a future SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight while Blue Origin prepares for its first New Shepard launch with a full six-person crew.
Blue Origin astronaut dies in plane crash
A biomedical entrepreneur who flew on Blue Origin’s second crewed suborbital spaceflight died in a plane crash Nov. 11.
Federal court rules against Blue Origin in HLS lawsuit
The Court of Federal Claims has ruled against Blue Origin in its suit about the agency’s selection of SpaceX for a single Human Landing System award.
Blue Origin and Sierra Space announce plans for commercial space station
An industry group led by Blue Origin and Sierra Space, and including several other companies and organizations, announced plans Oct. 25 to cooperate on the development of a commercial space station.
Blue Origin eyes participation in military ‘rocket cargo’ program
Blue Origin is considering entering a cooperative agreement with the U.S. military to examine how space vehicles might be used to transport cargo around the world.
Blue Origin launches second crewed New Shepard mission
Blue Origin launched Star Trek actor William Shatner and three others into space on a brief suborbital flight Oct. 13, the second crewed flight of the company’s New Shepard vehicle.
Star Trek’s William Shatner to fly on next New Shepard flight
Blue Origin confirmed Oct. 4 that William Shatner, the actor best known at Capt. James T. Kirk from the original “Star Trek” TV series and movies, will fly on the company’s next New Shepard suborbital flight this month.
FAA reviewing Blue Origin safety allegations
The FAA says it is reviewing allegations about safety issues at Blue Origin raised in an explosive essay by a group of current and former employees.
Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen to fly with Blue Origin
Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen will be one of four passengers on the next flight of the Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital vehicle.
Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX, ULA win Space Force contracts for rocket technology projects
Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance were selected to participate in Space Force development projects to advance rocket engine testing and launch vehicle upper stages.
UN secretary-general criticizes “billionaires joyriding to space”
The secretary-general of the United Nations lumped space tourism alongside corruption and loss of freedoms as part of a “malady of mistrust” facing the world, another sign of the backlash in some quarters to private human spaceflight.
Court filing outlines Blue Origin’s case against NASA SpaceX lunar lander award
Blue Origin is seeking to overturn NASA’s award of a lunar lander contract to SpaceX by arguing that SpaceX’s proposal failed to meet requirements for reviews that made it “unawardable.”
