#blue-origin

#blue-origin

There are a few notable elements to NASA's launch this week of a new mission to Mars, known as Escapade. There's the matter of the Blue Origin rocket used to send the probe into space and returning successfully to Earth, making it a milestone for the spaceflight company's New Glenn rockets. As Blue Origin CEO Dave Limb said in a statement, "never before in history has a booster this large nailed the landing on the second try."

The space agency's decision to reopen the contract for the Artemis mission moon lander renews competition between SpaceX, which had previously won the award, and Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos's space startup. But it also sets off a competition between Texas and Washington, the two companies' respective home states. Politicians have long fought over American space spending, as Fast Company has previously explained. But it's not clear where they stand, at least for now.

The award does not directly imply a delivery agreement; first, NASA will verify whether Blue Origin is capable of successfully sending the expensive VIPER rover to the moon's south pole. To be eligible to take on the VIPER delivery, the company must place its Blue Moon MK1 lunar lander-complete with a NASA technology payload-on the lunar surface by the end of 2025.

I would actually like to apologize for being mean about Katy Perry last week. Oh, there was actually no need for me to bring her name into it.

"The crew who flew to space this week on an automated flight by Blue Origin were brave and glam, but you cannot identify as an astronaut," Duffy wrote Thursday on X.

"Space is not an either or, it's a both and. And because you do something in space doesn't mean you're taking anything away from Earth."

The semi-famous women... became the first all-woman crew to visit space... well, they weren't flying the thing.

I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don't just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle.