Blue Origin

One demonstration closer to delivering VIPER to the Moon.

We just completed a risk-reduction test campaign with @NASA: running a full offload with a VIPER Mobility Ground Research Unit (MGRU) before doing so on the lunar surface.

We proved out the full concept of operations with our flight-like offloader: the complete offload sequence, nominal and off-nominal, ran end-to-end across the full range of lander tilt angles, with joint mission operations and NASA commanding the rover remotely. Stay tuned for images of our flight offloader, which is being fabricated now!

Our launch bridge is back and ready for use. With a robust design, we salvaged most of the structure and reworked the bearing mating surfaces. The team also reinstalled the main water piping.

Thank you, @GregAbbott_TX and the state of Texas, for being a true partner in our work. This expansion adds more than 2,000 high-skilled jobs to our Texas workforce, deepening our 20-year roots. Our road to space started in - and now continues through - the Lone Star State!

Big news, Texas! We're opening Constellation Park, a new 1.3-million-square-foot manufacturing complex and bringing 2,000 jobs to Hutto, TX, to support TeraWave and Quartz. The campus will house manufacturing for key Blue Origin subsystems, including solar arrays, avionics, telecommunications, and other satellite hardware.

Read more: bit.ly/3VqvxAL

LC-36's skyline keeps rising, one module at a time. Module 5 is now placed with four more to go. [edit: original image]

In celebration of National Manufacturing Week, we have a podcast episode that focuses on the incredible work our team here at Blue does day in and day out!

Erika McClosky, the senior director of Manufacturing, Operations, and Assembly, joins the Ascending Node to break down what happens on the factory floor and why manufacturing careers are open to anyone with the right eye for detail, regardless of background. Give it a watch and see why the small stuff matters just as much as the big stuff! Out now where you get your podcasts.

Manufacturing isn't just happening here. It's evolving here. Catch a first look at our latest podcast episode, where we get real about robotics, precision, and what it takes to build at scale.

National Manufacturing Week starts tomorrow, and we're kicking things off early with a little preview.

New Glenn 9x4 has been added to NASA’s Launch Services Program, making both New Glenn configurations eligible to compete for NASA science and exploration missions.

With an 8.7-meter fairing and the ability to carry more than 70 metric tons to LEO, 9x4 gives NASA greater payload capacity and flexibility as we expand the New Glenn fleet 🚀

Two paths to orbit. More flexibility for NASA.

Power changes what’s possible on the lunar surface.

Our Power Tower is a 20-meter-tall, vertically deployed solar array system designed to provide more than 10 kilowatts of power for Moon Base operations at the lunar South Pole. Its modular architecture will support future surface networks, extending power beyond the lander to the assets that need it most.

Explore the concept in our animation below, then watch a successful real-world deployment: youtu.be/wcirOp_E2J0

As Star Trek celebrates 60 years this week, voyage into the philosophy and future of spaceflight. In Part 2 of Rod Roddenberry's conversation on Ascending Node, the focus turns to what is happening in spaceflight technology today at Blue, and what that means for the future.

Listen now: youtu.be/0Dt-Ro2YKSE 🖖

Welcome to Rocket Park, home of New Glenn and Lunar Permanence 🚀🌕

This week, we hosted the @NASAArtemis III crew — Astronauts Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade), Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca), Andre Douglas (@Astro_AndreD), Frank Rubio, and backup Bob Hines (@Astro_FarmerBob). The crew got an up-close look at where New Glenn and our lunar landers come to life, then headed to LC-36, where we will launch our MK2 Earth Orbit Rendezvous demonstration vehicle in support of the Artemis III mission.

The Moon is, on average, 238,855 miles away. Our MK1-101 Endurance team just made it feel closer.

Across two weeks of simulations, our team rehearsed key mission phases, including launch and separation, lunar orbit insertion, lunar orbit operations, and landing. The training also included checkout and software-emulated use of @NASA’s Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) payload system, providing the team with hands-on experience operating a key science instrument on Endurance.

Each sim builds the coordination, confidence, and readiness needed for our mission to the lunar surface.

Mars just got a little closer.

Blue Origin is honored to have been selected by @NASA to help build the first dedicated communications network at the Red Planet. Our Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO), built on the Blue Ring platform, will create new pathways for science while delivering multiple payloads to the orbit of Mars, driving discovery today and preparing for the next chapter of human exploration.

Learn more: bit.ly/4qSh8sF

"Star Trek inspired me to do this."

Rod Roddenberry has heard it from strangers, scientists, and engineers alike... people who found their calling because of a show his father created.

But for Rod, it's more than nostalgia. It's proof of what great storytelling can do—make you see the world, and your place in it, from a completely different perspective.

On this episode of Ascending Node, Rod shares those stories and what it means to carry that legacy forward.

🖖 New episode out now: youtu.be/lccPFd1azgg

🖖 Gene Roddenberry didn't just imagine the future for Star Trek; he worked with the science community to help make it believable.

On the next episode of Ascending Node, his son Rod joins us to talk about that legacy, how he's carrying it forward, and how Star Trek's vision inspires real engineers to go build it.

New episode coming soon!

🎙️: bit.ly/45EEYhS

Your live view from the Moon: coming up!

Lunar Express's architecture will deliver multiple simultaneous 4K video links — from the lunar surface and orbit all the way to Earth — with the capacity to scale further. For the first time ever, humanity will witness a Moon Base being built live, brick by Moon-brick, in 4K high-definition.

Learn more about the Blue Ring spacecraft: blueorigin.com/blue-ring

Our first three Quartz ground stations have been installed and completed acceptance testing in Bermuda, New Zealand, and Australia.

Quartz is our global ground communications network, purpose-built to support Blue’s product portfolio and external customers across a broad range of mission sets. Nine sites worldwide by the end of the year.

Read more: bit.ly/4fRTgS4

We’re building Launch Complex 36B at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to support New Glenn’s high-cadence launch operations and infrastructure resiliency. 🚀 Read more: bit.ly/4wnlaKu

Lunar Express, a Blue Ring spacecraft built to provide critical lunar infrastructure and delivery services, provides the communications architecture that U.S. government missions need: radio frequency and optical working together, interoperable, scalable, and built around mission assurance.

Blue Ring's hybrid communications system delivers up to 1 Gbps from the lunar surface to Earth, streaming high-resolution imagery and video, relaying real-time crew communications, and supporting mission-critical operations simultaneously. Fully compatible with NASA's ground station networks and commercial stations worldwide, Lunar Express keeps cislunar operations securely and reliably connected.

Learn more: blueorigin.com/blue-ring

What's better than a day at Rocket Park? Astronauts stopping by. 🚀

We were thrilled to welcome @NASAArtemis III Astronauts Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) and Frank Rubio to Rocket Park this week! These incredible astronauts represent the future of lunar exploration, and we're excited to support the Artemis III mission with our Blue Moon MK2 Earth Orbit Rendezvous demonstration vehicle.