#new glenn

[gemini-enthusiast]

Alright, here's some of the pics I snapped while out at the space force base!

Cape Canaveral lighthouse (and gift shop)

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket

Mercury 7 monument beside Launch Complex 14 (now leased to Stoke Space)

ULA Mobile Service Tower

[paraparaparadigm]

[klimkovsky]

Awaiting the first launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket

Blue Origin is a direct and perhaps the closest competitor to SpaceX. Its founder, Jeff Bezos (Jeffrey Preston “Jeff” Bezos), better known as the founder and owner of Amazon, as well as the head of the Washington Post publishing house, was the richest man on the planet for several years, and only a couple of years ago he gave up his place in this rating to Elon Musk. Almost simultaneously with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos assessed the prospects of the private sector in American and world cosmonautics, and began to actively invest in this industry — he created an aerospace company, whose name for many years was associated only with commercial suborbital jumps to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere — an attraction for the rich. But in parallel with this, a heavy-class carrier was being developed, strategically aimed at reusability.

This development has been delayed. The launch of the New Glenn rocket (named after the first American astronaut to make the first orbital flight, John Glenn) has been expected for many years. Its creation began more than 10 years ago, but since then the dates for demonstrating at least something have only been postponed. Contracts were even signed for the launch of payloads, but most of them were terminated due to the unreadiness of the carrier, or postponed indefinitely. For example, in 2021, New Glenn was supposed to deliver a research station to the Moon, and in 2023, send another rover to Mars. Most of the failed Blue Origin contracts went to (it’s not hard to guess who) SpaceX. It’s gotten ridiculous — like SpaceX, Blue Origin aims to create its own satellite constellation for broadband Internet access around the world (this is the so-called Project Kuiper — an analogue of the Starlink system), and the New Glenn rocket was primarily developed for this project, but the first devices of Jeff Bezos’ satellite constellation were launched into orbit by Elon Musk’s Falcon 9 carriers.

The delay in the development of New Glenn is largely due to problems in the development of BE-4 engines. These are innovative engines on a Methane-Oxygen fuel pair. Elon Musk preferred Kerosene-Oxygen fuel for his workhorse Falcon 9 and was right. Despite the promising benefit of using methane, the technology of methane engines is still only being researched. But Bezos decided not to waste time on temporary solutions and ended up getting stuck at the development and testing stage, which also let down industry partners — the American space giant ULA (United Launch Alliance), whose Vulcan rocket (which replaced the Atlas-5 launch vehicle, which used Russian RD-180 engines) also could not put anything into orbit for several years, since there were no BE-4 engines for it. And most of ULA’s contracts also went to SpaceX.

But now the engines are ready, and even Vulcan has already launched a couple of times. But New Glenn still couldn’t take off — apparently, the development was stuck on something else besides the engines. At the end of 2024, the stumbling block was the launch permit from the FAA, which had previously passionately slowed down test flights of the Starship system from SpaceX, but now it seems the American regulator has a new passion.

However, permission has already been received — in the first days of the new year 2025. Fire tests of the carrier, which has been on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral for many days, have been conducted. The launch may occur in the very near future, but not earlier than January 10.

This will be a demonstration flight, during which a demo version of the orbital tug “Blue Ring Pathfinder” will appear in space, which will not even separate from the second stage — it will be deorbited (submerged) together with it. Orbital tugs are a relatively new direction in space technology. The cost of launches is rapidly falling. And the cost of the payload is still quite high. For example, launching into orbit can cost from 50 to 100 million dollars, but the device itself can cost a billion. Its service life is limited by the wear of solar panels or the supply of fuel for correction and raising the orbit. What if it was possible to refuel a satellite worth a billion for 100 million dollars or transfer it to another orbit, replace a number of components right in orbit, or even deorbit it — with the help of a special satellite — a tug? Previously, this was not thought about. Of course, the Space Shuttle system sometimes solved such problems, but now it is gone, and there are satellites waiting for servicing in orbit. New players in the space technology market are also trying to fill this niche with their developments. Blue Origin is also developing tugs. “Blue Ring Pathfinder” is their brainchild. It turns out that in the upcoming flight we will see a demonstration of two promising technologies at once.

Blue Ring — a space tug from Blue Origin

Source: Universe and Human

Author: Andrey Klimkovsky

[talkoftitusville]

Blue Origin Payload Ready, Company Says New Glenn Inaugural Flight Still This Year

New Glenn at LC-36 earlier this year.Photo: Blue Origin 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. The Payload Blue Ring inside New Glenn’s fairings.Photo: Blue Origin Blue Origin plans to conduct a pathfinder test of its…

[sansfeargaldin]

4x28 Tecnología espacial; La conquista de la Luna, mito o realidad

Buenas, seguimos con esta serie de tecnología, paso a paso hasta marte. Esperamos que os guste y os esperamos en Twitch; saga_galdin, donde grabamos el podcast en directo. Síguenos en instagram @sagagaldin para enterarte de cuándo y qué estamos preparando. Saludos. Podéis acceder a este contenido en nuestra sección de Podcast o directamente en este enlace de Ivoox. Siguenos en nuestras redes…

[spaceflight-insider]

NASA picks 7 companies to advance commercial space capabilities

An artist’s concept of ThinkOrbital’s ThinkPlatform in low Earth orbit. This is one of several concepts NASA is collaborating with industry via unfunded Space Act Agreements to build out commercial space capabilities in low Earth orbit. Credit: ThinkOrbital NASA has partnered with seven companies to help advance commercial orbital capabilities to meet the agency’s needs while building up a…

[nimuetheseawitch]

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

The wave hits the library

[relaxedstyles]

😳

[jbaileyfansite]

Jonathan Bailey for 'Vanity Fair: Hollywood Issue 2025'

[reality-detective]

This is how the FBI control the local police. It’s all one corrupt system. 🤔

[dennisboobs]

:) i certainly have no issue dressing in drag :)

^guy who has no issue dressing in drag btw

glenn said that dennis' drag name is victoria von hemen btw

(Source)

[gemini-enthusiast]

Teaser for some pics coming soon

[paraparaparadigm]

[charmac]

"Are Mac and Dennis the Greatest Will-They-Won't-They in Sitcom History?" - @k8mckinnonstan

As filmed by yours truly and @macdenlover (x)

[talkoftitusville]

Blue Origin Selected By AST Mobile For Multiple Launches On New Glenn

An artist rendering of AST Mobile satellites in orbit.Graphic: Blue Origin via X.com Business is picking up at Blue Origin, as the company and AST Mobile announced yesterday that Blue and New Glenn have been selected for multiple launches of AST’s next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO). According to both companies, the launches will occur over a multi-year…

[sansfeargaldin]

4x20 Tecnologia espacial; Estaciones Espaciales

Buenas de nuevo, otra semana más hablando del espacio y sus fascinantes tecnologías, estaciones espaciales. Esperamos que os guste y os esperamos en Twitch; saga_galdin, donde grabamos el podcast en directo. Síguenos en instagram @sagagaldin para enterarte de cuándo y qué estamos preparando. Saludos. Podéis acceder a este contenido en nuestra sección de Podcast o directamente en este enlace de…