Jeff Bezos launched Blue Origin, a private spaceflight business, in 2000 with the goal of reducing spaceflight costs and assisting with solar system exploration. The business wants to build an Earth-beneficial future where people live and work in space.Blue Origin is developing the Glen Hardware, a next-generation launch vehicle, with a large payload capacity and a reusable first stage. The first stage requires a landing platform in the ocean, and Blue Origin’s plan has evolved from a cargo ship to a drone ship. The first stage is designed for 25 flights and requires consistent landing at sea, transportation back to land, refurbishment, and set up for the next attempt.
In 2018, Blue Origin bought a former cargo ship, Blan, to transform into Nan’s future seat landing platform. However, Blan abandoned its plans in August 2022 and was towed to the port of Brownsville for scrapping. Clark Merritt Port director criticized the Jaclyn ship’s conversion into a landing platform, leading to its scrapping. Blue Origin, a space company, decided to move away from the Jaclyn due to cost complexity and schedule concerns. In June 2022, they plan to use the same contractor as SpaceX to modify a large drone ship for landing their Glen Rockets first stage.
It is unclear if the company will attempt to land the first stage right away, as it could damage whatever the landing platform ends up being. Blan, the manufacturer of the new Glen program, has been ramping up work on all aspects of the new Glen program despite the company’s private approach to progress and development. Blan’s rocket engine production facility in Huntsville, Alabama, will conduct high-rate production of the Be4 and B3U engines. As of now, not a single Be4 engine is flown, but they are being produced in Massachusetts at the factory.
Vulcan, a spacecraft designed for frequent flights, will require numerous Be4 engines in the coming years. Amazon satellite service has selected Vulcan for 38 launches by 2026, with a majority of these launches expected to occur before 2026. As Vulcan is expendable, every launch requires two more Be4 engines, potentially requiring 76 Be4 engines. However, Ula plans to reuse Vulcan’s Be4 engines in the future, but this plan is not planned immediately.
The new Glen program is scheduled to lift off in December with two Be4 engines powering its first stage. The success of this mission will provide valuable data for Blue Origin, which can be applied to the seven Be4 engines on the rocket’s first stage. Physical test structures are underway, and Blen has released a picture of its main production building at Exploration Park. NASA has shown confidence with a launch contract for next year, with the company launching the Escapade Mission to Mars. The mission will take 11 months to arrive at Mars, and if missed, it may take years before the next opportunity.
Blue Origin has invested over $1 billion in rehabilitating its launch site, Launch Complex 36, located at Cape Canaval Space Force Station. The company aims to create a Next Generation launch vehicle capable of landing and reusing the first stage up to 25 times after scrapping. A drone ship report suggests that a drone ship may be in the near future, but its impact on the space industry remains uncertain.