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More Clues About Blue Origin's Space Plans

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the blue's-clues dept.

FleaPlus writes "Blue Origin, the secretive company started by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, has recently released a number of new details about their suborbital launch plans and their private desert launch facility. The vehicle will be fully reusable, and similar in many ways to the vertical-takeoff-and-landing DC-X. The details were part of a 229-page environmental impact statement the company filed to comply with federal regulations. The company plans to start launching test vehicles later this year, with commercial operations beginning in 2010."

3 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Reusable! by mcai8rw2 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Here is a big cheer for the fact that the object is re-usable. This is fast becoming one of the more considered aspects of shuttle design, and given taht there is a "The Carbon Trust" campaign going on in the uk [and the world!] a reuable shuttle is a big bonus.

    --
    >>>Scanning for I.D.I.O.T.S. >>>
    >>>I.D.I.O.T.S. FOUND! >>>
    1. Re:Reusable! by CommunistHamster · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's not just the reusability, it's how reuseable it is, in this case measured in turnaround time. The wikipedia article states that it has a turnaround time of 26 hours minimum, which is outstanding compared to the Shuttle.

  2. Come on people - look at the trend... by Cicero382 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've been an avid follower of space exploration for... well, all of my life. Hell, my father even woke me up at 3 AM so I could watch Armstrong do his stuff (I was eight) - he didn't dare *not* let me watch - the whinging would've been awful.

    In those days, youngsters like me *knew* that we would have a base on the Moon in 10 years and another on Mars a few years after that. The excitement!

    Oh, dear...

    OK. I know now that it was all a "Get there before the Commies", but it *was* done. (BTW. To all you Yanks reading this - I think you guys made the greatest achievement of the human race, to date, happen. The reasons aren't important - you should be very proud).

    Now look at it. It's starting again, but this time on many fronts - this isn't the only initiative. I'm eight years old again. The only difference is that I'm too old to play a part.