Blue Origin

Last night, we celebrated New Shepard Propulsion Module, PM4-2, now on display at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution in the RTX Living in the Space Age Hall. As America celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, we're honored to see it stand alongside some of humanity's greatest achievements in exploration.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Wally Funk. Wally was a pioneer in every sense of the word. In her 20s, she was the first female civilian flight instructor at a U.S. military base. She became the youngest of the Mercury 13, outperforming nearly every test put in front of her, and ultimately, the only one of the thirteen to have ever reached space. On NS-16, sixty years later, Wally made history as the oldest astronaut at the time and remains the oldest woman to ever fly to space. It was a moment six decades in the making. We were humbled to be part of her journey. Her story will continue to inspire generations of future explorers. Fly Wally, Fly. 🚀

Our thrusters team just wrapped another successful hotfire test campaign for BT-7, a fully Blue Origin-developed thruster, from valves to thrust chamber, capable of pulsed and long-duration operation for vehicle attitude control and orbital maneuvering. These latest tests advanced performance across 80lbf & 120lbf configurations, as BT-7 matures into our first in-house hypergolic bipropellant thruster, with applications on the Artemis III mission and future lunar vehicles.

Fit check! The team recently lifted the BE-7 engine into position on Endurance to fit, trim, and weld the liquid hydrogen (LH2) and Liquid Oxygen (LOX) feedlines, and to adjust the struts to the installation length, setting up a streamlined engine install following the integrated vehicle tanking test.

Across our facilities, the American flag is more than a symbol on the wall; it’s a reminder that what we’re building is part of America’s history and future. We're proud to support American leadership in space, honor 250 years of the American pioneering spirit, and be part of the legacy.

Blue Ring was deliberately designed for a variety of missions, including interplanetary. Blue Ring is built from the start to turn a dream Venus mission architecture into reality, on a faster timeline and at a lower cost than traditional planetary mission approaches. Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's former science chief, has his mission. What's your dream Blue Ring mission?

Endurance testing continues! We completed a shock test last week, introducing our MK1 lunar lander to the environment generated when it separates from New Glenn. 21 accelerometers were positioned around the vehicle to characterize the shock response. All components exceeded survivability requirements during the test. Next up: Full vehicle separation testing.

We’re committed to returning New Glenn to flight this year. Read more about the path forward here: https://bit.ly/3T9s0Fw

Continuous sunlight is scarce on the Moon unless you know where to look. 🌑 The lunar poles contain "peaks of eternal light," areas bathed in near-continuous sunlight. Power Tower mounts on Blue Moon MK1's top deck and extends solar arrays to 26 meters total height to capture that energy and deliver sustained power for Moon Base operations. Check out this video of Power Tower during a successful deployment in an analog lunar environment. The infrastructure era of lunar exploration starts now.