NASA is planning a science mission to Mars that may trip up aboard a New Glenn — Blue Origin’s first huge authorities contract for the as-yet-untested launch car.
New Glenn is the a lot, a lot bigger sibling of the suborbital New Shepard rocket that so many celebrities and wealthy people have gone to the sting of house in. Introduced in 2016, the launch car would compete with SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and different heavy-lift choices. However 6 years later, we’ve got but to see a New Glenn in a single piece, not to mention able to launch a Mars mission.
The primary flight for New Glenn was scheduled for late 2021, however that date was “refined” earlier that 12 months, purportedly as a result of a contract with the Pentagon had fallen by. This autumn of 2022 was the following window, however clearly that’s come and gone. I’ve requested for up to date timing.
The launch contract is thru the Enterprise-Class Acquisition of Devoted and Rideshare (VADR) program at NASA, which early final 12 months assigned a most of $300 million to be cut up amongst 13 corporations for launch providers of varied sorts. Everybody who’s anybody is on the listing there, primarily offering a low-cost possibility for noncritical missions.
“These small satellites and Class D payloads tolerate comparatively excessive threat and function a great platform for technical and structure innovation,” wrote NASA on the time of the award. In different phrases, we’d definitely quite they didn’t blow up, however at this worth who’s arguing?
The fortunate mission to be awarded a spot on a New Glenn is Escapade, a dual-craft Martian magnetosphere examine that, funnily sufficient, is being designed and constructed by launch rival Rocket Lab. (They don’t actually overlap but, actually, however they’re nominally opponents.)
The notional launch date is in 2024, however these have a tendency to slide, particularly when the rocket they’re alleged to go up on remains to be type of theoretical. I’ve requested Rocket Lab what they consider all this and can replace if I hear again.
New Glenn will not be flying but, but it surely does have loads of curiosity, most prominently from Blue Origin’s buddies at Kuiper, Amazon’s communication satellite tv for pc constellation firm. They ordered 12 final 12 months, which ought to maintain Blue’s new Huntsville facility working for the foreseeable future.
