Blue Origin announced today that the payload for the first launch of their New Glenn orbital-class rocket is ready, and that the company still plans to launch the flight this year — which has only 22 days remaining.
An FAA launch license and approval from the US Space Force are still needed for that to happen.
Photo: Blue Origin
The Payload
Photo: Blue Origin
Blue Origin plans to conduct a pathfinder test of its Blue Ring technologies. Blue Ring is described by the company as a “spacecraft platform,” one that can not only orbit Earth and provide services to satellites, but also travel around the Moon, with the goal of providing delivery and logistics support to cislunar space projects as well.
Blue Ring will also function as a maneuverable platform that can host, transport, and refuel other spacecraft. It will also be capable of acting as a data relay while also offering an “in-space” cloud computing capability, according to the original announcement of the project.
Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, said on December 9, “There is a growing demand to quickly move and position equipment and infrastructure in multiple orbits. Blue Ring has advanced propulsion and communication capabilities for government and commercial customers to handle these maneuvers precisely and efficiently.”
“This Blue Ring Pathfinder is equipped with storage and compute virtualization to demonstrate anomaly detection using machine learning. Its mission kit provides high-performance, radiation-tolerant compute and storage akin to today’s cloud-based offerings,” Limp concluded.
“We’re excited to demonstrate Blue Ring’s advanced in-space operations on New Glenn’s inaugural mission,” said Paul Ebertz, Senior Vice President of Blue Origin’s In-Space Systems. “Blue Ring plays a critical role in building a road to space, and this mission is an important first step for Blue Ring and enabling dynamic and responsive operations that will greatly benefit our nation.”
New Glenn Launching This Year?
The headline for the Blue Ring announcement had an interesting statement: “Blue Ring Pathfinder Payload Ready for Launch; Blue Origin’s New Glenn on Track for This Year.”
Dave Limp also said on December 8 that Blue is awaiting “regulatory approvals for hot-fire and launch” of New Glenn. Presumably, that is an FAA license to launch as well as approval from the Space Force that Blue Origin for the static fire and also that New Glenn ready for flight from a range safety and operations standpoint.
While Blue Origin waits for the paperwork to be finished, they have been conducting fueling operations on New Glenn at LC-36.
There are 21 days left in 2024.
