Blue Origin announced that it had plans to create an orbital maneuvering vehicle. The announcement was made against the background of personnel changes in the company.
A year ago, rumors began circulating that Blue Origin was engaged in the creation of a new spacecraft. However, only now the company has confirmed them. The project was named Blue Ring. It involves the creation of a space platform focused on providing in-space logistics and cargo delivery from medium Earth orbit to near-lunar space and beyond.
According to the official statement of Blue Origin, the platform is able to solve two of the most pressing tasks: the development of space infrastructure and increasing mobility in orbit. It will allow the company’s customers to easily enter various orbits and maneuver on them with minimal costs.
The company’s statement also says that the Blue Ring will be able to receive a payload weighing more than 3,000 kg, providing transportation of both spacecraft and payloads placed on it. In addition, the spacecraft will be able to refuel satellites, relay data and provide other logistics services.
Currently, this is all the available information about the project. Blue Origin did not provide any additional details about the technical mechanism of the platform, the schedule of its flights, or its prices. In theory, Blue Ring can face strong competition. Several other companies are working on similar projects. For example, Quantum Space is developing a spacecraft for delivering payloads to geostationary orbit and near-lunar space.
The announcement of the Blue Ring is being made at a time when Blue Origin is going through a leadership change. Bob Smith, who headed the company for six years, announced his resignation on September 25. He will be replaced by Dave Limp, whose portfolio includes the satellite grouping Project Kuiper.
In addition, the US Federal Aviation Administration recently reported on the launch of the New Shepard suborbital system in September 2022. It is assumed that in the near future, it can make a new flight.
According to https://spacenews.com
Follow us on Twitter to get the most interesting space news in time
https://twitter.com/ust_magazine
