Blue Origin to offer space experiments
msnbc.com: The secretive space rocket company Blue Origin that is owned by Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos is now offering--in addition to providing the public with opportunities to experience spaceflight--space on its New Shepard spacecraft to researchers to fly microgravity experiments into space. Unlike an expendable rocket, the New Shepard spacecraft takes off and lands vertically.
Comments
Blue Origin is apparently doing some outstanding R&D.
It is interesting to note the wide range of sub-orbital space craft configurations being developed. With several companies now developing sub-orbital and orbit capable platforms, as well as the work the NASA is doing on the ARES 1 and ARES V vehicles as well as on the CEV, perhaps within 20 to 30 years, there will be a whole fleet on configurations and vehicle shapes within which people can have access to space.
As a middle aged U.S. citizen who is in favor of a strong national defense, I would tend to think that the Department of Defense should seriously take note of all of the sub-orbital and orbit capable vehicles that are being developed by these new players who are not constrained by the aerospace paradigms and entrenched R&D bureaucracy of the large well established aerospace and defense contracting firms.
Posted by: James M. Essig | December 12, 2008 11:53 AM