Jeff Bezos – Spaceflight Now

Amazon buys three launches from SpaceX for rival internet constellation

December 1, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Tech giant Amazon is adding a fifth rocket to launch its satellite internet constellation. In a surprise move on Friday afternoon, the company announced it purchased three flights aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets to send batched of its Project Kuiper satellites to low Earth orbit.

Bezos’s Blue Origin auctions seat on first New Shepard spaceflight with passengers

May 7, 2021 William Harwood

Blue Origin plans to begin crew flights of its suborbital New Shepard spacecraft on July 20, launching the highest bidder in an online auction out of the atmosphere and into space for a few minutes of weightlessness and an out-of-this world view before returning to Earth.

Blue Origin tests passenger accommodations on suborbital launch

January 14, 2021 Stephen Clark

Blue Origin says it is “very, very close” to flying humans on suborbital launches to the edge of space after a successful test flight of a human-capable rocket and capsule Thursday.

Blue Origin launches New Shepard on 12th test flight

December 11, 2019 William Harwood

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched a reusable New Shepard rocket Wednesday, boosting an unpiloted capsule on a successful up-and-down flight to space in the 12th test of a spacecraft designed to carry “space tourists” and other commercial astronauts on brief forays above the atmosphere.

Blue Origin preps for suborbital launch

December 10, 2019 Stephen Clark

After poor weather scrubbed a launch attempt Tuesday, Blue Origin plans to launch the 12th flight of the company’s New Shepard suborbital booster Wednesday from West Texas with a package of research payloads.

Bezos says space industry stalwarts will help Blue Origin build moon lander

October 22, 2019 Stephen Clark

Blue Origin has partnered with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to build elements of the company’s human-rated lunar lander, and Draper will lead development of the lander’s avionics and guidance systems, with an aim to be ready to land a crew on the moon by 2024, company founder Jeff Bezos announced Tuesday.

Jeff Bezos unveils ‘Blue Moon’ lander

May 9, 2019 Stephen Clark

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, discussed his vision for spaceflight and lunar exploration Thursday in Washington, revealing new details about a privately-developed lunar lander he said will help NASA achieve the Trump administration’s goal of returning astronauts to the surface of the moon by 2024.

Blue Origin scrubs suborbital launch attempt, delays flight to early 2019

December 18, 2018 Stephen Clark

Blue Origin scrubbed the planned launch Tuesday of the company’s suborbital New Shepard booster from West Texas due to a “ground infrastructure issue,” and later said the flight would be pushed back to early 2019.

Bezos rocket engine selected for new Vulcan rocket

September 28, 2018 William Harwood

Ending months of speculation, Blue Origin, a company owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos, has won a milestone contract to provide first-stage rocket engines for a powerful new booster being designed by United Launch Alliance to replace its current fleet of Atlas and Delta launchers, the companies announced Thursday.

Blue Origin performs high-altitude test of crew escape motor

July 18, 2018 Stephen Clark

Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard booster launched Wednesday on an uncrewed test flight, sending a capsule on a brief jaunt into space over West Texas to demonstrate a key safety feature for space tourists and scientists riding on the company’s future rockets.