Tag: Bezos

Counting the Costs of International Space Projects

Counting the Costs of International Space Projects

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. As U.S. space pundits await signals over what direction NASA’s policy will take under the Trump Administration, this photo of the European Space Agency’s general meeting should serve as reminder of some of the downsides of increased international participation in large space projects. Exercising leadership and […]

Posted in: NASA, Trump
Blue Origin Makes Fourth Test Flight / Landing (This Time With Live Webcast)

Blue Origin Makes Fourth Test Flight / Landing (This Time With Live Webcast)

After pushing back a planned test flight of the New Shepard booster and capsule from Friday until Sunday due to a leaking O-ring in the capsule’s nitrogen gas pressurization system, Blue Origin made it four in a row with another successful launch and landing of both. The Father’s Day flight added two new wrinkles, one fans […]

Posted in: British Space
SpaceX, Blue Origin and Orbital ATK Make for Busy Week in Commercial Space

SpaceX, Blue Origin and Orbital ATK Make for Busy Week in Commercial Space

  It is a busy week for commercial space. Orbital ATK  An Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vessel departed the International Space Station at 9:30 AM EDT this morning, heading for its usual path of destruction high over the Pacific Ocean, but not before it performs a unique fire in space experiment, as well as releases […]

Posted in: Uncategorized
Blue Origin Makes it a Three-peat With Saturday Launch, Recovery

Blue Origin Makes it a Three-peat With Saturday Launch, Recovery

  Blue Origin has successfully conducted a third consecutive launch of its New Shepard reusable  suborbital booster. The latest flight of the hydrogen/oxygen single engine rocket topped with an equally reusable Crew Capsule included several new elements. First, in a welcome development, company founder Jeff Bezos advised followers via Twitter on Friday that a new […]

Defending SLS Takes a Curious Historical Turn

Defending SLS Takes a Curious Historical Turn

In 2013, the Houston Chronicle’s Eric Berger conducted a remarkable interview with retired NASA manager Christopher Kraft, the engineer who was the agency’s first manned spaceflight director, and who played a critical role in designing each of the boosters which elevated the United States from sub-orbital flight to the surface of the Moon in less than […]

Posted in: SLS / Orion
Blue Origin’s BE-4 Engine Begins to Enter the Spotlight

Blue Origin’s BE-4 Engine Begins to Enter the Spotlight

Earlier this week, Blue Origin finally opened the doors of its Kent, Washington headquarters to a small group of reporters. Although the overall purpose was to begin to pull the veil off a privately funded space development effort which up until now has inevitably been accompanied by the word “secretive,” one emerging theme was to […]

Posted in: Blue Origin
Did Audi Capture the State of American Space Program in Super Bowl Commercial?

Did Audi Capture the State of American Space Program in Super Bowl Commercial?

Using Apollo imagery in commercials for major sporting events is certainly nothing new. In a 2014 spot for Cadillac, which played throughout the Winter Olympics, we left the keys in the lunar lander cause we had been there, done that and were “bored.” Besides, we were “the only ones going back.” It was pure braggadocio. Given […]

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