Advanced Television

Blue Origin

Blue Origin gets FCC launch licence

The Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin rocket business has received a ‘special temporary authority’ licence from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the next launch of its New Shepard rocket variant. Blue Origin Texas LLC applied for its licence on March 23rd. The FCC has licenced Blue Origin for “one suborbital flight of the launch system […]

March 27, 2023By Chris Forrester

SpaceX: “We can boost launch capacity”

SpaceX, already the world’s busiest supplier of rocket launch capacity, says it can do more and could increase its launch frequency. A series of expert panels at the recent Satellite 2023 event in Washington, DC, talked about anticipated shortages in launch capacity especially in the 2024-2027 time frame. The decision by the Jeff Bezos-backed Project […]

March 21, 2023

Amazon’s Kuiper facing “constraints”

Imagine, you are one of the richest individuals on the planet and you have a broadband-by-satellite scheme (Project Kuiper) that could be highly competitive. But – and there are quite a few ‘buts’ – you don’t have the rockets to get them into space… Indeed, Amazon’s executive chairman Jeff Bezos has poured millions into Blue […]

October 31, 2022

Report: Space Tech Investment rife

Karista is an early stage venture capital fund based in Paris, and it says that in the first quarter of 2022 there was some $4.75 billion (€4.7bn) of total new funding spread over 74 space technology deals. The split in terms of cash allocation was that 41 percent was focussed on North America (and 30 […]

July 15, 2022By Chris Forrester

Eutelsat keeps Bezos Blue Origin launch order

Back at the Satellite 2017 show, in front of thousands of delegates, Eutelsat’s then CEO Rodolphe Belmer signed a contract with Jeff Bezos for the very first order for Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. Eutelsat and Blue Origin, in a statement at the time, said the rocket would be ready “by the end of the […]

April 13, 2022

Bezos’s giant rocket orders unwrapped

The news on April 5th that Jeff Bezos had signed unprecedented orders for rocket capacity to get Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband system operational did not go far enough. The announcement also kick-starts a five-year timetable and designed to compete head-to-head with Elon Musk’s Starlink operation which is already in business. Amazon had ordered up a […]

April 6, 2022

Bezos makes Kuiper move

Jeff Bezos has ordered a massive series of rocket launches to get Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband system into space. Amazon has selected Arianespace, its own Blue Origin, as well as the United Launch Alliance for an overall 68 launches, split between the three giant launch providers. The three sets of contracts are by far the […]

April 5, 2022By Chris Forrester

Blue Origin readies next launch

The next Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin rocket launch was originally currently scheduled for March 23rd. Following the need for additional ground tests, lift-off is now scheduled for March 29th at 08:30 CDT from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas. It will be the 20th flight for the rocket. The New Shepard version of […]

March 22, 2022By Chris Forrester

Blue Origin to double passenger flights

The Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin rocket system says it plans to more than double the number of people it lofts into sub-orbital space upon its New Shepard vehicle. It was a New Shepard rocket which carried William Shatner into sub-orbital space last October. Bob Smith, chief executive of Blue Origin, speaking at the annual FAA […]

February 24, 2022By Chris Forrester

Blue Origin acquires Honeybee Robotics

Honeybee Robotics is to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Origin. A deal between Honeybee’s parent organisation, Ensign-Bickford Industries, and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, is expected to close in mid-February. Financial terms were not disclosed. Since 1983, Honeybee has delivered more than 1,000 advanced projects to government and industrial customers in the spacecraft, planetary […]

January 28, 2022By Chris Forrester