Articles tagged with "Blue-Origin"
Blue Origin pauses space tourism flights to focus on the moon
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, announced it is pausing its space tourism flights for at least two years to concentrate resources on lunar missions. This decision temporarily halts the New Shepard program, which has flown humans past the Kármán line—the recognized boundary of space—over the past five years. The pause comes just weeks before the anticipated third launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn mega-rocket, initially planned to carry a robotic lunar lander. However, the lander is still undergoing testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The move aligns with the U.S. government’s renewed focus, under President Donald Trump, on returning astronauts to the moon and establishing a sustained lunar presence, opening opportunities for companies beyond SpaceX to compete for lunar missions. Since its first flight over a decade ago, New Shepard has completed 38 missions, carrying 98 humans and over 200 scientific payloads, primarily serving space tourism and research purposes. Unlike SpaceX’s Falcon 9, New Shepard was
robotspace-explorationlunar-missionsBlue-OriginNew-Shepard-rocketrobotic-lunar-landerspace-technologyBlue Origin plans satellite swarm to serve data centers, governments
Blue Origin has announced plans for TeraWave, a large-scale satellite communications network comprising over 5,400 satellites, set to launch by the end of 2027. Unlike existing consumer-focused services like SpaceX’s Starlink, TeraWave targets high-capacity data users such as data centers, national security agencies, and global corporations. The network will feature a multi-orbit design with 5,280 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and 128 high-capacity satellites in medium Earth orbit (MEO). The MEO satellites are expected to deliver symmetrical data speeds up to 6 terabits per second using optical laser links, while the LEO satellites will provide speeds of 144 gigabits per second via radio waves. This architecture aims to offer ultra-high-throughput connectivity with rapid scalability and redundancy, especially benefiting remote and underserved areas where fiber infrastructure is limited. Blue Origin’s entry into the satellite internet market comes amid intense competition from established players and emerging state-backed
IoTsatellite-communicationBlue-Originglobal-internetdata-centershigh-speed-connectivitysatellite-networkBlue Origin’s satellite internet network TeraWave will move data at 6Tbps
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, has announced TeraWave, a new satellite internet network designed to deliver data speeds up to 6 terabits per second (Tbps). Targeted at enterprise, data center, and government customers, TeraWave will deploy a constellation of 5,280 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and 128 medium-Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, with initial launches planned for late 2027. The LEO satellites will use radio frequency (RF) connectivity with speeds up to 144 Gbps, while the MEO satellites will employ optical links capable of reaching the 6 Tbps maximum speed, significantly surpassing current offerings like SpaceX’s Starlink, which maxes out at 400 Mbps. TeraWave aims to provide a space-based network layer that enhances connectivity in locations unreachable by traditional infrastructure, addressing enterprise needs for higher speeds, symmetrical upload/download rates, redundancy, and rapid scalability. This initiative complements Amazon’s
IoTsatellite-internetBlue-OriginTeraWavelow-Earth-orbit-satellitesdata-transmissionspace-technologyBezos vs Musk: Space race heats up with new orbital data center push
The article highlights the escalating competition between Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX as they pursue the development of orbital data centers to address the surging energy demands driven by the generative AI boom. AI systems require massive power, and data centers on Earth face challenges such as high energy consumption and cooling costs. Placing data centers in Earth's orbit offers potential solutions by leveraging space’s cold temperatures for efficient cooling and continuous solar energy, potentially reducing environmental impact and operational costs. This concept has attracted major players, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s acquisition of Relativity Space, SpaceX’s plan to expand Starlink satellites for space-based data centers, and now Blue Origin’s secretive work on similar technology. Jeff Bezos envisions gigawatt-scale orbital data centers within 10 to 20 years, emphasizing the advantages of uninterrupted solar power and the absence of weather-related disruptions in space. This aligns with his broader goal of relocating significant portions of Earth’s industry off-world. Additionally, space solar
energydata-centersorbital-technologyspace-solar-powerAI-energy-consumptionBlue-OriginSpaceXBlue Origin launches 321-foot rocket with twin NASA orbiters to Mars
Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket on its second flight from Cape Canaveral, carrying NASA’s twin ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft destined for Mars. The 321-foot rocket lifted off after a delay caused by weather and solar storms. The $80 million mission aims to study Mars’s upper atmosphere and magnetic fields to understand how solar wind interactions contributed to the planet’s atmospheric loss, which transformed Mars from a wet environment to a dry one. This research is critical for protecting future astronauts from radiation and advancing NASA’s goal of safely sending humans to Mars. A significant milestone for Blue Origin was the successful recovery of the New Glenn booster stage, which landed upright on an offshore barge, demonstrating reusable rocket technology similar to SpaceX’s approach. The twin ESCAPADE spacecraft will first travel to Lagrange Point 2 near Earth, waiting until November 2026 for optimal planetary alignment to use Earth’s gravity for a slingshot maneuver toward Mars
energyspace-explorationrocket-launchMars-missionNASABlue-OriginspacecraftBlue Origin sticks first New Glenn rocket landing and launches NASA spacecraft
Blue Origin successfully landed the booster of its New Glenn rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean during its second launch attempt, becoming the second company after SpaceX to achieve this milestone. The launch, which took place on Thursday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, also marked the deployment of New Glenn’s first commercial payload: twin NASA spacecraft destined to study Mars’ atmosphere. This dual achievement is significant for Blue Origin’s efforts to establish New Glenn as a viable option for sending larger payloads to space, the Moon, and beyond, positioning the company as a competitor to SpaceX’s dominant launch services. The booster landing is a critical step toward making New Glenn reusable, a capability that reduces launch costs and is essential for commercial and government missions. Blue Origin had faced delays and a failed booster landing during New Glenn’s maiden flight in January but made necessary fixes in coordination with the FAA to ensure success on this second attempt. Looking ahead, Blue Origin must demonstrate the ability to refurbish and relaunch the
energyspace-explorationreusable-rocketsBlue-OriginNASArocket-landingaerospace-technologyBlue Origin lands New Glenn rocket booster on second try
Blue Origin successfully landed the booster of its New Glenn rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean during its second launch attempt, becoming the second company after SpaceX to achieve such a milestone. This accomplishment marks a significant step toward making the New Glenn rocket a viable option for delivering larger payloads to space, including missions to the Moon and beyond. The launch took place on November 13, 2025, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with the booster touching down approximately 10 minutes after liftoff. In addition to the booster landing, the New Glenn’s upper stage carried Blue Origin’s first commercial payload: twin spacecraft for NASA designed to study Mars’ atmosphere. These spacecraft were scheduled for deployment later the same day. The successful landing follows a failed attempt during New Glenn’s maiden flight in January, when the booster exploded before it could land. Blue Origin’s achievement demonstrates progress in reusable rocket technology and advances its position in the competitive space launch industry.
energyspace-technologyrocket-boosterBlue-OriginNew-Glennaerospacereusable-rocketsBezos predicts that millions will live in space kind of soon
At Italian Tech Week in Turin, Jeff Bezos predicted that millions of people will be living in space within the next couple of decades. He emphasized that this migration will be driven primarily by choice, with robots managing labor-intensive tasks and AI-powered data centers operating in orbit. Bezos’s vision contrasts with, yet parallels, Elon Musk’s long-standing goal of colonizing Mars, where Musk envisions a million inhabitants by 2050. Both billionaires appear optimistic about rapid space habitation, though their timelines and approaches differ. Bezos also expressed strong support for the current surge in AI investments, describing it as a beneficial “industrial” bubble rather than a speculative financial one. He conveyed an overall optimistic outlook on the future, suggesting that this period is an unprecedented opportunity for technological advancement and innovation. His remarks reflect a confident stance on both space exploration and AI development as transformative forces shaping humanity’s near future.
robotsAIspace-colonizationBlue-Originroboticsartificial-intelligencespace-technologyJeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Wins Contract to Take NASA Rover to the Moon
NASA has awarded Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, Blue Origin, a $190 million contract through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to potentially deliver the VIPER lunar rover to the Moon’s south pole. However, this award is contingent on Blue Origin demonstrating its capability to successfully land its Blue Moon MK1 lunar lander on the Moon by the end of 2025, carrying a NASA technology payload. The contract includes an option for Blue Origin to deliver and deploy the VIPER rover, which NASA will decide on after reviewing the success of the initial Blue Moon MK1 mission. The VIPER rover, designed to explore lunar ice and other resources, is about 2.5 meters tall, weighs nearly 500 kilograms, and is equipped with a drill and scientific instruments. Originally scheduled for launch in 2023, the mission has faced delays and cost increases, leading NASA to seek private partnerships to reduce expenses and focus on scientific objectives. Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1 lander will
robotspace-explorationlunar-roverNASABlue-Originlunar-landerroboticsBlue Origin wins NASA deal to ferry VIPER rover to lunar south pole
Blue Origin has secured a significant NASA contract to deliver the VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) to the lunar south pole using its uncrewed Blue Moon Mk1 lander. Valued at approximately $190 million under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, this deal revives the VIPER mission after it was previously shelved due to delays and cost overruns with the original Griffin lander contractor. The rover, about the size of a golf cart, is scheduled to arrive on the moon by late 2027 and will spend around 100 days prospecting and drilling to map water ice deposits near the lunar south pole, a region believed to hold significant stores of water ice. The VIPER mission is crucial for NASA’s long-term lunar exploration goals, as identifying and utilizing in-situ resources like water ice could support sustainable human presence on the moon by providing drinking water, oxygen, and rocket propellant. This contract also marks a key milestone for Blue Origin, providing its
robotlunar-roverspace-explorationNASABlue-Originlunar-resourcesVIPER-roverBlue Origin to deliver NASA’s VIPER rover to Moon in late 2027
NASA has revived its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission to explore the Moon’s south pole, awarding Blue Origin a $190 million Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract to deliver the rover in late 2027. VIPER will be transported on Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) lander, currently in production, and will conduct a 100-day science mission focused on investigating permanently shadowed regions for water ice and other volatiles. This mission supports NASA’s Artemis program goals of establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon by identifying resources critical for astronaut survival and fuel production. The VIPER mission had previously faced cancellation in July 2024 due to technical delays and cost overruns, despite significant investment and rover assembly completion. However, after pausing dismantling efforts and reconsidering strategy, NASA officially reinstated the mission with Blue Origin’s involvement. Blue Origin will manage the entire landing process, including payload integration and rover deployment,
robotspace-explorationlunar-roverBlue-OriginNASAArtemis-missionlunar-lander