COCOA BEACH, Fla.—As it so often does in the final days before the debut of a new rocket, it all comes down to weather. Accordingly, Blue Origin is only awaiting clear skies and fair seas for its massive New Glenn vehicle to lift off from Florida. After the company completed integration of the rocket this … Read more
After a long day of stops and starts that stretched well into the evening, and on what appeared to be the company’s fifth attempt Friday, Blue Origin successfully ignited the seven main engines on its massive New Glenn rocket. The test firing as fog built over the Florida coast marks the final major step in … Read more
“Take a look around,” Piemont wrote. “US rockets fly every couple of days, with perfect success. It’s revolutionary. While there is still a need for more providers in certain market segments, those opportunities are decreasing. To succeed in such a demanding effort as scaling up an orbital launch program, you need deep motivation around your … Read more
The engines switched off, and there it was. Many of the spectators lucky enough to be there jumped up and down with joy, hugged their friends, or let out an ecstatic yell. I snapped a few final photos and returned to his laptop, grinning, speechless, and started wondering how I could put this all into … Read more
The upside of SpaceX’s architecture is that, with refueling, Starship can theoretically ferry payloads of 100 metric tons or more to the Moon or Mars, significantly more capacity than any other rocket. The ships could be refueled over and over again, and routinely transit between Earth and destinations in space, making all sorts of fascinating … Read more
