This week marks Blue Origin announcing a new product without a flashy launch featuring founder and funder Jeff Bezos. Is it a sign of things to come?
The space company revealed a new vehicle called Blue Ring, effectively a space tug on steroids. Lars Hoffman, a Blue Origin salesperson, told Aviation Week that the vehicle will be able to carry more than 6600 lbs (nearly 2000 kg) of payloads to a variety of orbits throughout the solar system. It will use chemical and electric propulsion that is apparently unrelated to the line of engines it developed for its other vehicles.
This kind of Swiss Army knife spacecraft could deliver satellites to bespoke orbits, carry sensor payloads for scientists or companies, refuel other spacecraft, or even repair them if equipped with the right robotic implements.
Unlike the New Shepard rocket, the New Glenn rocket, or the Blue Moon lunar lander, or space stations hosting millions of people, the debut did not include a Bezos appearance. And it came ahead of a planned transition in corporate leadership, with CEO Bob Smith stepping down at the end of year, to be replaced by former Amazon executive Dave Limp.
Blue has been hinting at the project for a while now. In a sense, it’s the natural extension of Blue’s hoped-for launch business; when its New Glenn rocket finally takes flight, a space tug would be a nice complement to attract a broader variety of customers. But the company says the vehicle is designed to launch on a variety of rockets, including ULA’s Vulcan and SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
The project faces competition from many sources: Rocket Lab has its Photon kickstage, which can deliver small satellites to bespoke orbits throughout the solar system. Northrop Grumman is already flying space-servicing vehicles, and Astroscale is building one. Momentus is a company dedicated to making space tugs. Firefly Space is building a tug, as is Exolaunch. But the Blue Ring as envisioned is significantly larger and more capable than any of those vehicles.
“This is going to leapfrog all of the other orbital transfer vehicles, tugs, and propulsive-ESPA concepts that are out there,” Hoffman told Aviation Week.
Hoffman said the vehicle might fly by 2025, but did not reveal how much it will cost. It is available for customers to purchase now, a Blue Origin spokesperson says. The company’s record of execution hasn’t been spectacular; the FAA recently closed its investigation into the failure of an uncrewed New Shepard spacecraft more than a year ago and is waiting to launch again, while its orbital rocket New Glenn is still waiting for its maiden voyage next year.
There’s also been signs of internal indecision: Reuters reported this month that Blue was on the verge of abandoning its plan to build a private space station, Orbital Reef, as part of a consortium with several other companies. The company pushed back via social media, saying “We’re fully committed to working with NASA to ensure a continued human presence in low Earth orbit.” But with work ramping up on its planned moon lander—which in turn depends on some untried and tricky technology—something has to give.
Blue Origin is at an interesting inflection point. Next year could see it finally flying rockets on a regular basis, competing directly with SpaceX. When Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon in 2021, many wondered if that would lead to him to spend more time and energy at his space company. Perhaps the installation of Limp, who worked with him closely at Amazon for many years, is a sign that Bezos is taking a tighter grip on the reins.
On the other hand, Blue Ring could be seen as the most practical product the company has yet offered, without the big-time Bezos vision behind the company’s other products: A fully-reusable rocket, a Moon lander, and a space station are all novel efforts for a space company, but a big satellite that can fly around the solar system is in some sense more straightforward, and perhaps driven by the profit motive—something that has been in short supply at Blue but might offer some much-needed discipline.
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IMAGERY INTERLUDE
Did you catch the annular eclipse over the weekend? I didn’t get an amazing view, but the folks at Bryce Canyon National Park took a long-term exposure that’s truly striking:
And with all the attention on going to the Moon, it makes me wonder what a solar eclipse will look like from the lunar surface—which is not an original thought.
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SPACE DEBRIS
The FAA needs more resources to license launches faster. Representatives from SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin told US senators that the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation needs more and better personnel, plus streamlined rules to keep up with the burgeoning launch industry. They also added that the moratorium on rules for private human spaceflight should continue. With the pace of rocket launches accelerating—SpaceX broke its launch record from 2022 in September—the proposed overhaul is something of a no-brainer.
Is that really Starship’s problem? Ahead of the hearing, SpaceX made its case in the Washington Post and Ars Technica that the FAA is holding back the development of Starship, the heavy-lift rocket that is vital to the future of both the company and NASA’s plans to return to the Moon. However, the current hold-up is apparently not with the FAA’s assessment of the vehicle, but continued issues with environmental regulation at the company’s Boca Chica spaceport, as the US Fish and Wildlife Service is still weighing in on environmental concerns. However, outside compliance experts and the company’s own employees have been warning about skirting these rules for years now, and it didn’t help that SpaceX’s debris analysis proved inadequate during the last launch.
The $170 billion question. There are big dreams for a lunar economy, but the specifics of getting there remain a little nebulous. Enter DARPA, with a new project to convene space-focused companies and gather specific data on the technology gaps that could prevent profit on the Moon.
Hawkeye 360 raises $10 million in Lockheed partnership. The radio frequency surveillance startup topped up its Series D round with a deal that includes plans to develop new technology with the publicly traded defense contractor.
Starlink has another conflict opportunity. The war in Ukraine helped make SpaceX’s Starlink internet service a household name and earned it some lucrative defense contracts. Now, at least one Israeli official is eager to turn on the service to help provide communications following brutal attacks on civilians by Hamas last week. Meanwhile, SpaceX is touting a new agreement to provide internet service to Qatar Airways, owned by the government that also hosts Hamas’ leadership.
Capella founder leaves CEO role. Payam Banazadeh is stepping back from management duties at the space radar company, while Frank Backes, senior vice president at Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, steps in as the new top executive. Capella has suffered setbacks, notably the loss of a new satellite during a September launch failure, but the transition is portrayed as a way to focus on winning more government contracts.
Space firms raise $3 billion in the third quarter. The folks at Space Capital say that private space investment is up 17% year-over-year, but note that we’re seeing fewer early stage companies win backing, and that much of the investor interest is chasing government contracts—not too far off from what we’re hearing from VCs in Silicon Valley.
Last week: Thirteen Ways of Looking at Psyche, NASA’s next asteroid mission.
Last year: How to keep space travelers safe.
This was issue 199 of our newsletter. Hope your week is out of this world! Please send your theories of Blue Origin, tips, and informed opinions to [email protected].