Advanced Television

Jeff Bezos

Bezos eyes ULA

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is said to be the frontrunner to buy United Launch Alliance (ULA), the joint-venture giant rocket business backed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. ULA wanted up to $4 billion (€3.7bn) for its assets, but reports suggest that the final price might be much nearer $2-2.5 billion. CNBC says that signed agreements […]

February 23, 2024By Chris Forrester

Blue Origin eyes ULA

The Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin rocket company is reported to be the front runners in the purchase of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket business. ULA is a joint-venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin and their Delta and Atlas rocket versions. ULA holds many Nasa and US military contracts for satellite launches. The Blue Origin […]

November 20, 2023By Chris Forrester

Buyers emerge for ULA

The United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint-venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin (L-M), is up for sale. The rocket builder now has potential bidders emerging. The three names currently being reported on include a private equity business, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket company and an unnamed aerospace firm which is said to be well-capitalised. The […]

November 16, 2023

Blue Origin to exit Orbital Reef space station

Orbital Reef is – or was designed to be – a privately-funded space station. Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-backed rocket business and Sierra Nevada Space are likely to end the corporate partnership they formed to help fund the space station. The concept was for an orbiting ‘business park in space’ and operating in low Earth […]

October 6, 2023

Blue Origin wants international launch sites

The Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin rocket business would like additional international business and including launch facilities, additional to its existing sites in Texas, Florida and Alabama. Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith, in an interview with the FT, said they were also looking for non-US acquisitions in manufacturing and software in order to scale up its […]

July 4, 2023

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

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

Kuiper test-craft to debut early 2023

The Jeff Bezos super-constellation, Project Kuiper, will launch two test prototype satellites in early 2023 using a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket. But the launch is later than expected. Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2 will be the first of a massive commitment from Amazon which calls for 3,236 broadband satellites. The licences for the experimental […]

October 14, 2022

SpaceX, Kuiper challenge Viasat/Inmarsat deal

Viasat of California is in the process of buying London-based Inmarsat for some $7.3 billion (€6.9bn). SpaceX is formally complaining to the FCC and says that Viasat has violated FCC rules and should not be given permission to control another company’s assets. Jeff Bezos’s Kuiper Systems is also complaining to the FCC over the Viasat/Inmarsat […]

June 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