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Launch. Land. Repeat. Congrats Blue Origin!

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posted on Jan, 22 2016 @ 09:26 PM
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This launch just happened earlier today, Blue Origin just released this video within the last hour off their website and Youtube channel. Blue Origin just sent up the same rocket (New Shepherd) they landed back on 11/23/2015... This is now the first vertical landing of a rocket that's been reused.. This is wonderful for everyone. This isn't a SpaceX vs Blue Origin thread, this is a "if these two private companies both do well thread, all of humanity wins"... Congrats Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin, wonderful accomplishment!


Blue Origin just launched and landed its suborbital rocket New Shepard — the same vehicle the company flew and then landed in November. The booster reached a maximum altitude of 333,582 feet, or 63 miles, above the Earth's surface, before landing gently back at Blue Origin's test facility in Texas. That makes it the first commercial vertical rocket to launch into space a second time.

To get the rocket flight ready again, Blue Origin had to make a few modifications to it first. The company replaced the parachutes in the crew capsule — the passenger vehicle that sits on top of the rocket. The crew capsule detaches from the rest of the rocket body in space, and the parachutes help it to land safely back on ground again. Blue Origin said that it also replaced New Shepard's pyro igniters and updated its software. A lot of inspections were needed to make sure the rocket was ready.


Article

Reuters



And for those who don't remember, this is what they did back on 11/23 of last year. They reused this rocket today!




edit on 22-1-2016 by jhn7537 because: (no reason given)

edit on 22-1-2016 by jhn7537 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 22 2016 @ 09:31 PM
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I know it's not a "him vs. him" thread, but having been at the edge of my seat the last few SpaceX tries, I have to say congrats. This last one I had the little ones gathered around the CPU to watch the ocean pod landing and the satellite uplink got cut seconds before the rocket landed (and exploded....) on deck of "read the instructions".

Long story short, good on Blue Origin. I could care less who does better so long as the Private Sector continues this. In my honest opinion, it couldn't be a better time to be a space spectator. NASA had its' day, but even they basically said "wait, you need glasses? you'll never fly in space"




posted on Jan, 22 2016 @ 09:36 PM
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originally posted by: DuckforcoveR
I know it's not a "him vs. him" thread, but having been at the edge of my seat the last few SpaceX tries, I have to say congrats. This last one I had the little ones gathered around the CPU to watch the ocean pod landing and the satellite uplink got cut seconds before the rocket landed (and exploded....) on deck of "read the instructions".

Long story short, good on Blue Origin. I could care less who does better so long as the Private Sector continues this. In my honest opinion, it couldn't be a better time to be a space spectator. NASA had its' day, but even they basically said "wait, you need glasses? you'll never fly in space"



Yes, I was watching that same stream, and it was disappointing that they cut it short. I felt that if you're willing to live stream something, you need to be prepared to take the good with the bad. I'm glad both companies are pushing one another, and it's amazing seeing what the privatized industry is quickly accomplishing over the Govt... and even better, they aren't wasting money at the rate NASA was...
edit on 22-1-2016 by jhn7537 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 22 2016 @ 09:43 PM
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I would take that ride in a heartbeat.



posted on Jan, 22 2016 @ 09:46 PM
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a reply to: jhn7537


Completely agree. NASA I think had a "well if it blows up we'll just buy a new one" mentality. That may be a giant cluster F of a generalization, but I think deep down the private sector can do way better. Each launch is a, yes, an avenue to profit (the bad - not the profit, but the mentality). But with that, they understand that if it keeps going bad, the walls come down. NASA was practically untouchable for how long, and that eventually led to them becoming almost complacent. Do just enough to justify their existence, but not try anything hard that might risk their funding....


in all honesty, i'm not at liberty to speak for either, so everything above is an opinion. FYI



posted on Jan, 22 2016 @ 09:57 PM
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originally posted by: JHumm
I would take that ride in a heartbeat.


I'm going to try to when it's possible for people like you and I in 4-5 years...



posted on Jan, 23 2016 @ 01:31 AM
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a reply to: jhn7537


Pretty badass how it looks like it's coming in way too fast and then it just slows down and plops down gently. This is great, this would pair up great with a certain smaller shuttle-esque vehicle I feel, USAF anyone?



posted on Jan, 23 2016 @ 02:05 AM
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a reply to: Caughtlurking

This is definitely impressive but imo not quite the same level of difficulty compared to what SpaceX is attempting. The heights and mission profiles are much different. Blue Origins is definitely more on the demonstration side than the practical whereas SpaceX has from the beginning gone for the full commercial operation. Still competition is the best thing for this industry so bravo Blue Origins, keep taking that next step.



posted on Jan, 23 2016 @ 02:19 AM
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a reply to: Caughtlurking

Considering the sheer number of engineers that Bezos recruited from the Delta Clipper team at McDonnell Douglas, the somewhat military looking behavior of Blue Origin's craft makes a bit more sense.

I like SpaceX, but it sometimes feels like what they're doing is refining a lot of tech that was already there and combining it in the most efficient way possible, while adding little details like the booster recovery.

Blue Origin, on the other hand, keep to themselves and rather than boasting, let little tidbits of their long-term plans trickle through. Don't let their "slow and steady wins the race" attitude towards developing and flying their designs fool you though, their craft are in many ways much more advanced than SpaceX's, especially when it comes to propulsion and flight profile, and I'm talking about their orbital vehicle.

As we're seeing now, Bezos has the money, and he quite clearly has the talent to make it happen. If SpaceX is like golden-era Microsoft, or PC-era IBM, then Blue Origin is 1980's or early 2000's Apple in terms of approach, ambition, etc.
edit on 23-1-2016 by Barnalby because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 23 2016 @ 03:42 AM
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F******* great job!!!



posted on Jan, 23 2016 @ 05:30 PM
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It's all fine and dandy, but I'm still waiting for a manned commercial flight in LEO. When that happens, then we can talk.



posted on Jan, 23 2016 @ 10:25 PM
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a reply to: wildespace

Patience.

These things aren't easy, nor are they cheap; in talent or money. If and when they make this commercially available and even remotely expensive they're going to have to be 100% positive that it's going to work safely. Anyone dies early on in this and it's going to set programs back or end them permanently.



posted on Jan, 24 2016 @ 10:49 AM
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originally posted by: Caughtlurking
a reply to: wildespace

Patience.

These things aren't easy, nor are they cheap; in talent or money. If and when they make this commercially available and even remotely expensive they're going to have to be 100% positive that it's going to work safely. Anyone dies early on in this and it's going to set programs back or end them permanently.



Agreed! These things take time, and these two privately funded companies (Blue Origin and SpaceX) are making tremendous strides right now... Anxious people need to remember that this may be a modern day "space race" but the race is still a Marathon and not a sprint...



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