Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Launches Its First Rocket

Zothecula writes: Billionaires who made their cash in dot-coms from the 1990s successfully launching commercial rockets is officially a trend, now that Jeff Bezos has followed in the footsteps of Elon Musk with Wednesday's successful test flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard space vehicle. "Our 110,000-lbf thrust liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen BE-3 engine worked flawlessly, powering New Shepard through Mach 3 to its planned test altitude of 307,000 feet. Guidance, navigation and control was nominal throughout max Q and all of ascent. The in-space separation of the crew capsule from the propulsion module was perfect. Any astronauts on board would have had a very nice journey into space and a smooth return." Here are the images and video.

Comments

What's the point ?

[Saffaya]

Can anyone explain why Jeff Bezos is doing the same thing that SpaceX is already doing ?

To lower cost to orbit .. check
To design re-usable first stages ... check

The only difference I see is that they want to use LOX/LH for first stage.
And even then, they plan to go to LOX/LMethane after that.

Of course, competition is always nice to have.

Re:What's the point ?

[jythie]

A somewhat more expanded question would be, why are these companies developing suborbital rockets in the first place?

They are neat projects, and they have tourist potential, but it sounds like in general these are not designs that can be scaled up to orbital capabilities, and suborbital has fairly limited applications.

It kinda gives the feeling that these projects are 'rich people having fun' as opposed to something that has market or research value.

Re:What's the point ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Can anyone explain why Jeff Bezos is doing the same thing that SpaceX is already doing

To put Richard Branson in his place.

Re:What's the point ?

[ThatsLoseNotLoose]

'Rich people having fun' does have its merits. It may be an inefficient use of capital, but it can still advance science and stimulate the economy.

Certainly it's preferable to 'Rich people sitting on their wealth'.

Re:What's the point ?

[OmniGeek]

The point, as I understand it, is that even if these specific vehicles cannot be scaled up to have orbital capabilities (and I think they may well be), they WILL serve as stepping stones to vehicles that WILL have full orbital capabilities. With their suborbital "toys," these firms are building up the knowledge, skills, and technical infrastructure necessary for a real spacegoing capability.

Having multiple private space ventures is the best way for the US to stay in the space game. Why stay in the space game? Because the winners will be the dominant players in the planet's future. The more space-capable players we have, the better off we'll be.

Re:What's the point ?

[jythie]

No argument there. I am not against the projects in any way, I am just a bit skeptical of how people are presenting them in terms of advancing spaceflight.

Though economic stimulation is always a mixed bag since while it does involve a whole watershed of people getting paid, the outcome is inconsumable and is essentially waste. So it produces on spurt of rearranging but then those resources exit the economy, resulting in net shrinkage.

Not to say countless other endeavors do not do the same thing of course ^_^

Re:What's the point ?

[rogoshen1]

Because you can usually measure these guys' egos by how many billions they have. Also, if you have billions of dollars, why the fuck WOULDN'T you want to do something as freaking cool as pretending to be 1960's NASA?

Or at the worst, it's not much different than asking why grown men do fantasy baseball/football. It's a hobby, just with significantly more zero's than the average joe.

Re:What's the point ?

[mileshigh]

'coz buying a vineyard is sooo passe.

Re:What's the point ?

[Megane]

But he's not doing what SpaceX is already doing.

SpaceX is going into orbit, while Bezos is staying in the sub-orbital tourist ghetto with the likes of Virgin and XCOR.

Re:What's the point ?

[phayes]

And what happens when there is the least problem in Bezos' spanking new engine? BOOM as there is no redundancy & no way to add it in later.

I prefer the non BOOM version.

Re:What's the point ?

[garyisabusyguy]

FTA
"We’re already designing New Shepard’s sibling, her Very Big Brother – an orbital launch vehicle that is many times New Shepard’s size and is powered by our 550,000-lbf thrust liquefied natural gas, liquid oxygen BE-4 engine."

So, this is a technological stepping stone to an orbital vehicle

Re:What's the point ?

[Martin Blank]

The additional engines allow for engine-out orbital capability, as has already happened on CRS-1, allowing the primary payload to reach orbit (the secondary payload failed, however). The failures of the N1 (which actually had 30 engines, not 27) weren't so much due to the number of engines as to the general complexity of operating a launch vehicle of that size. Each of the four failures varied in cause, and in only one case was the issue tied to an engine. Other failures were a pogo-induced line break (which might have been survivable had the computer not cut the engines), an uncontrolled roll due to eddies in a fuel tank, and a hydraulic shock wave from a planned shutdown of six of the engines bursting the fuel lines.

Re:What's the point ?

[camperdave]

They're not trying to be 1960s NASA. They're trying to be 2015's Star Trek.

Re:What's the point ?

[camperdave]

Suborbital flights only last for minutes, not days. It's a roller coaster, not a cruise ship.

Re:What's the point ?

[JamesPLynch]

You might remember that the old Saturn 1 had eight engines on its first stage. It was designed by Wernher Von Braun who knew a thing or two about rocket design.

Seriously, with today's microelectronics and sensors, it's pretty practical to gang up a bunch of engines and be fairly sure that they will work. The Russian N1 engine had some kind of problem with its design, as Orbital recently found out when their Antares booster exploded.

Re:What's the point ?

[itzly]

They're just trying to show they have the biggest dick. Hence the shape of the craft.

Re:What's the point ?

[bledri]

Technically, the only thing Jeff Bezos is doing is lending his name and some money to the project, its not like either he or Elon Musk are ACTUALLY involved in the work done in any way. They are mouth pieces.

Its their money, they can do whatever they want with it, but lets not pretend either one of these guys are actually doing anything impressive. They got lucky in a boom/bust situation, nothing more.

Hell, has Elon Musk EVER ran a profitable company? Just because he got rich selling stock doesn't mean the company was worth a shit, it just means there are people dumber than him.

1. SpaceX is a profitable company and has been for years.
2. The US had completely lost the commercial launch market. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and their bastard child ULA could not compete with the Russians nor ESA. And now SpaceX is regularly winning contracts and launching payloads and using the profits to develop a reusable first stage and a Saturn V class rocket. If that's not "worth a shit," then I don't know what it.
3. Musk is heavily involved in not only the day to day operations of SpaceX and Tesla, but does also get involved in strategic technical decisions.
4. Sour grapes taste sour.

Re:What's the point ?

[catchblue22]

Can anyone explain why Jeff Bezos is doing the same thing that SpaceX is already doing ?

To lower cost to orbit .. check To design re-usable first stages ... check

The only difference I see is that they want to use LOX/LH for first stage. And even then, they plan to go to LOX/LMethane after that.

Of course, competition is always nice to have.

Yeah, the only difference is that Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000, two years before Space X was founded, and only just now launched his first rocket. Bezos sounds like the Justin Hammer of the commercial space industry.

Re:What's the point ?

[catchblue22]

Certainly it's preferable to 'Rich people sitting on their wealth'.

The amazing thing about Elon Musk is that when he was a student he actually lived on $1/day for a while. He said that knowing he could live on so little was quite freeing, enabling him to take more risks.

I really don't think of him as your typical billionaire.

Two data points make a trend?

[93 Escort Wagon]

Someone isn't very good at statistical analysis...

Re:Two data points make a trend?

[X0563511]

Three. Carmack did the same, but he backed out I believe.

Re:Two data points make a trend?

[antiperimetaparalogo]

Yes, if two (or three, as a fellow Slashdoter notes) "data points" exist then it is a tendency ("trend" - especialy if it is among "billionaires", as the summary states).

Competition is key

[l2718]

Can anyone explain why Jeff Bezos is doing the same thing that SpaceX is already doing ?

Why is GM doing the same thing that Ford is doing? As long as there is a market for space launches, competition will align the incentives better than other arrangements. We'll get to see more different approaches tried, and find out what's best. Costs will generally go down.

If competition takes root, then in 30 years a suborbital ticket would be affordable to many of us.

Not Blue Origin's first rocket launch!

[N22YF]

This was the first developmental test flight of their New Shepard, but they've been launching rockets since 2006. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...:

Second test flight: 13 November 2006, 06:30 (Goddard)
Third test flight: 22 March 2007 (Goddard)
Fourth test flight: 19 April 2007 (Goddard)
Fifth test flight: 6 May 2011 (New Shepard propulsion module (PM2))
Sixth test flight: 24 August 2011 (PM2, failure, loss of vehicle)
Pad escape test flight: 19 October 2012

(Their first test flight was a jet-powered controls testbed, so their first rocket flight was on the second test flight.)

i am waiting for my "folks-rocket"

[antiperimetaparalogo]

What was reserved only for governments it is now available to the wealthiest citizens, and what is now a trend among rich people will be common for all people - a "folks-rocket", as Hitler would like it named...

Prime

[Bosconian]

I don't understand. Is _this_ thing going to deliver my Q-Tips and AAA batteries now? Because if they raise the subscription fees again, I am so done!

Re:Prime

[R3d M3rcury]

Well, it could launch a hypersonic drone to deliver your Q-Tips and AAA batteries when you're visiting Suriname.

John Carmack is "only" a multi-millionaire

[mr_mischief]

John Carmack is "only" a multi-millionaire but there is Armadillo Aerospace. Carmack always could do more with fewer resources.

Re:John Carmack is "only" a multi-millionaire

[slew]

John Carmack is "only" a multi-millionaire but there is Armadillo Aerospace. Carmack always could do more with fewer resources.

Although the original Armadillo Aerospace as funded by Mr. Carmack is effectively no more, in true trickle down form it has been resurrected as a kickstarter campaign...

Given that their goal is only $125K and Carmack spent $8M, they would be attempting to do something with even *fewer* resources...

Re:John Carmack is "only" a multi-millionaire

[mr_mischief]

EXOS is in Caddo Mills, which is literally down the road from Heath where Carmack lives. It's running without his participation but it's claiming the successes of Armadillo on its web site. They are in old Armadillo facilities.

I think no matter what, there's a lot of Carmack's influence left there. I wouldn't be surprised if he kicks in some funding.

Familiar Shape

[lbmouse]

Looks like something your mom has in her nightstand drawer.

Is it just me

[HangingChad]

Or does that thing look like giant space sex toy?

Re:Is it just me

[irrational_design]

Son, that's no toy. If you had any idea how much thrust this thing... no, wait... um, If you had any idea how hard...no, that's not right...um, I'll get back to you when I can think of something to say that can't be responded to with "That's what she said."

Re:Is it just me

[camperdave]

um, I'll get back to you when I can think of something to say that can't be responded to with "That's what she said."

That's what SHE said.

Re:Is it just me

[esperto]

It a given rockets are, how we say.... phallus like, but this one just takes the cake.

May jeff is opening a Amazon erotica store and is using the New Shepard as a covert ad.

Re:Flying penis

[Needs2BeSaid]

It's not the length that counts... it's the girth.

Next version, orbit [Re:What's the point ?]

[Geoffrey.landis]

why Jeff Bezos is doing the same thing that SpaceX is already doing ?

They're not, New Shepard is a SUBorbital craft not an orbital one. I don't know if there are even any plans to make an orbital version...

From https://www.blueorigin.com/new...
"We continue to be big fans of the vertical takeoff, vertical landing architecture. We chose VTVL because it’s scalable to very large size. We’re already designing New Shepard’s sibling, her Very Big Brother – an orbital launch vehicle"

So: yes.

Five points make a trend [Re:Two data points make]

[Geoffrey.landis]

Three. Carmack did the same, but he backed out I believe.

Now revived as a kickstarter, Exos Aerospace

Four, Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic

Five, Paul Allen, Stratolaunch/Vulcan Aerospace

YAFCJ (yet another flying cock joke):

[Thud457]

Can anyone explain why Jeff Bezos is doing the same thing that SpaceX is already doing

To put Richard Branson in his place.

That's a perfectly reasonable motivation.
It also explains the shape of that fairing.

Re:Flying penis

[Dishwasha]

Actually, as you can see in the picture, the trick is to use a more bulbous head to better pierce and part the atmosphere.

Bezos interested in LEO space tourism

[peter303]

Musk wants to go to Mars.

SpaceShipTwo, already six years late, wont go orbitable like Blue Origin.

Amazon 30 minute delivery L.A. to NYC

[peter303]

Think outside the box.

It didn't go entirely to plan

[wonkey_monkey]

The summary fails to mention that it didn't all go to plan:

The booster that took the capsule up is said to have failed on the way down.

It is supposed to land vertically and softly, ready for another flight, but a hydraulic problem meant this part of the mission did not go as planned.

I read "did not go as planned" as "ended in a spectacular fireball," but they haven't released any images or video of that.

Incidentally the BBC's headline was:

Jeff Bezos conducts New Shepard flight

which sounded to me like he'd gone up in the thing.

Re:It didn't go entirely to plan

[cmeans]

Also, from the "narration" (not sure what the right term is for the person describing the flight etc.) in the video, the capsule "landed" at 24 ft/sec...that's 16 mph. Seems a bit fast to me. Better be strapped in tight and have heavy padding.

Re:It didn't go entirely to plan

[0123456]

I believe the Apollo capsule landed at ~20mph, and was certified for landing on solid ground if it missed the sea (e.g. launch pad abort).

those ads

[ruiner5000]

I likes the rockets. I would like a Best Buy ad that could perhaps not block just one of my screens, but all 5, and then also order some stuff for me on its on that I don't want, like one of everything from Monster.

If he followed Musk, .....

[WindBourne]

What was contained on-board? A wheel of cheese, or perhaps some ice cream?

Regardless, great job and keep going guys. It will be great to see you in orbit in about 3 years.

Re:If he followed Musk, .....

[itzly]

What was contained on-board?

Racks of bottom-buttered toast, and cats, to make sure it would land on its feet.

Re:What's the point? Pacel delivery of course

[reboot246]

I'd be happy if Jeff quit using USPS for my Prime orders. Jeff needs to remember what Amazon used to do and how he made all his money, or he'll soon be out of business.

USPS - when it absolutely, positively has to be there sooner or later

Blue Origin was founded before SpaceX

[bledri]

So Jeff Bezos isn't following Musk, he's doing his own thing. Musk isn't following Bezos either. Bezos wasn't trying to solve the specific problem that Musk wants to solve, so he started a company to do it. Both generally want to bring down the price of spaceflight, both believe reusable VTVL rockets are the way to do it, but they have very different philosophies on how to get there.