@blaineg@UncleVinny That’s the point. It’s just a vanity project tax write-off for Bezos. Instead of letting the government decide through our elected officials where to spend those tax dollars.
They are taking completely different approaches: Musk is in a hurry to get to Mars, and Bezos is taking his time. Here’s Blue Origin’s logo:
Gradatim Ferociter, means step by step, courageously.
Musk is fine with blowing stuff up, very publicly, in development. Bezos seems much more risk averse.
Having said that, Blue Origin is NOT vaporware. They are the sole source engine supplier for competitor ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket with their BE-4 engine. And you can’t get any more conservative “old space” and risk averse than Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
New (Alan) Shepard (suborbital) is still in development, and last flew in January.
New (John) Glenn (orbital) is in development, using the BE-4 engines, but they haven’t shown anything.
New (Neil) Armstrong (take a guess) has been announced, but there’s no info on progress.
Blue Origin also has a NASA contract to build a lunar cargo lander, Blue Moon, and they’ve shown a prototype. This is part of NASA’s Artemis moon project.
From the wikipedia article, we learn that there was a limited edition coffee table book, costing $112k, that several people apparently actually purchased, thus confirming the fallen state of this wretched world.
In the personal trivia category, we have an anecdote about my tender youth, when I’d been reading Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead. I was at a work party, and they’d hired a caricature artist to do free portraits of people. The guy started drawing me, and asked what I did for fun. I told him I read a lot. He said, “Yeah? What are you reading?” I told him, and so he drew me holding a book.
As he handed the finished drawing to me, he said, “I think you oughta read more books like this!”
If you have even a casual interest in rockets and space, Ars Technica’s weekly Rocket Report is a great way to keep up. Frankly I think it’s amazing that there is enough going on to merit a weekly report!
Eric Berger is one of the best space reporters out there. He’s landed good interviews with major old and new space figures, and has some great long form articles.
@blaineg Actually, that’s the Liberty Bell march by American composer John Philip Sousa. Monty Python adopted it, but it has been a favorite of military marching bands since 1893.
Ok, there was a teeny little issue with the landing, but that’s still bloody cool.
@blaineg it’s pretty great!
Hey, do you know what the heck Blue Origin is up to? They’re never in the news.
@blaineg @UncleVinny That’s the point. It’s just a vanity project tax write-off for Bezos. Instead of letting the government decide through our elected officials where to spend those tax dollars.
@UncleVinny Nobody knows much, even Ars Technica doesn’t have at lot of current info, though they did have a great article a several years ago.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/behind-the-curtain-ars-goes-inside-blue-origins-secretive-rocket-factory/
They are taking completely different approaches: Musk is in a hurry to get to Mars, and Bezos is taking his time. Here’s Blue Origin’s logo:
Gradatim Ferociter, means step by step, courageously.
Musk is fine with blowing stuff up, very publicly, in development. Bezos seems much more risk averse.
Having said that, Blue Origin is NOT vaporware. They are the sole source engine supplier for competitor ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket with their BE-4 engine. And you can’t get any more conservative “old space” and risk averse than Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
New (Alan) Shepard (suborbital) is still in development, and last flew in January.
New (John) Glenn (orbital) is in development, using the BE-4 engines, but they haven’t shown anything.
New (Neil) Armstrong (take a guess) has been announced, but there’s no info on progress.
Blue Origin also has a NASA contract to build a lunar cargo lander, Blue Moon, and they’ve shown a prototype. This is part of NASA’s Artemis moon project.
@blaineg very nice summary, thanks!
@UncleVinny I find it amusing that a space geek like me had no idea why Blue Origin’s first rocket was named New Shepard.
Until the day they announced New Glenn and New Armstrong.
@blaineg @UncleVinny
/image of a fire on the moon
Very good book as I recall. not nearly as indulgent as mailer’s regular stuff.
Mailer could be a great writer when he could get himself under control.
For this book he kind of did that.
/image Life magazine of a fire on the moon
Wow I even managed to remember hat the book had sections first published in Life magazine complete with the cover story
@blaineg @f00l Now there is some fun trivia!
From the wikipedia article, we learn that there was a limited edition coffee table book, costing $112k, that several people apparently actually purchased, thus confirming the fallen state of this wretched world.
https://is.gd/e1uACK
In the personal trivia category, we have an anecdote about my tender youth, when I’d been reading Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead. I was at a work party, and they’d hired a caricature artist to do free portraits of people. The guy started drawing me, and asked what I did for fun. I told him I read a lot. He said, “Yeah? What are you reading?” I told him, and so he drew me holding a book.
As he handed the finished drawing to me, he said, “I think you oughta read more books like this!”
The cover said, “The Naked and the Naked”.
Thx re info!
If you have even a casual interest in rockets and space, Ars Technica’s weekly Rocket Report is a great way to keep up. Frankly I think it’s amazing that there is enough going on to merit a weekly report!
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/rocket-report-iran-debuts-new-booster-spacex-to-launch-lunar-gateway/
Eric Berger is one of the best space reporters out there. He’s landed good interviews with major old and new space figures, and has some great long form articles.
Oh, and he’s got a book coming out on the early, shaky days of SpaceX. I’m looking forward to it.
https://www.amazon.com/Liftoff-Desperate-Early-Launched-SpaceX/dp/0062979973
And you’ve got to love SpaceX/Musk’s sense of humor. This is from when NOBODY had landed a rocket.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/spacex-proves-its-not-afraid-to-fail-by-releasing-a-landing-blooper-reel/
As someone said in the comments, the most expensive Youtube video, ever.
@blaineg Seriously, a Monty Python soundtrack?
@blaineg Actually, that’s the Liberty Bell march by American composer John Philip Sousa. Monty Python adopted it, but it has been a favorite of military marching bands since 1893.
@PocketBrain Of course, but I suspect that marching band might not have been what they were going for.