Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin teams up with spacefaring heavyweights for human lunar lander design

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin teams up with spacefaring heavyweights for human lunar lander design

Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, Blue Origin, no longer plans to build its giant lunar lander for NASA by itself. The company announced today that it is teaming up with three other legacy space companies -Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper - to develop a lunar landing system for the space agency that is fully capable of taking humans to and from the Moon’s surface.
By teaming up, the companies say they are better prepared to meet NASA’s expedited goal of putting people back on the Moon by 2024. “We recognize that this project and the time frame that the nation is calling for is ambitious — very ambitious,” Brent Sherwood, Blue Origin’s vice president of advanced development programs, said during a press conference. “And so we’ve pulled together the best in the industry to make this happen with our partner, NASA.”

NASA is in desperate need of a lunar lander at the moment as the agency prepares to send the first woman to the Moon as part of its Artemis program. The space agency had originally planned to perform the first landing for Artemis in 2028, but in March Vice President Mike Pence challenged NASA to speed up its timeline by four years. As a result, NASA has been scrambling to give out contracts for key vehicles that it needs to pull off such a monumental feat. On September 30th, the agency officially put out a call to the aerospace industry for lander designs, with submissions due by November 1st.

Before now, both Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin were something of rivals when it came to the Artemis program, as they had both pitched their own lunar lander designs to the public. In May, Bezos unveiled Blue Origin’s lunar lander concept, known as Blue Moon, which the company had been secretly working on for the last three years. The company also showed off a brand-new engine for the lander, called the BE-7, which would lower the vehicle down to the Moon’s surface. A month before that, Lockheed Martin detailed its own plans for a lunar lander. That concept was heavily influenced by the design of the Orion spacecraft, which the company has been developing for NASA to take humans into deep space.

Now, the companies have decided to join forces. Blue Origin plans to build the actual lander itself, along with the BE-7 main engine. Lockheed Martin plans to build the ascent portion of the lander - the vehicle that crews will ride in when they take off of the Moon. Both of these vehicles will still be based on the designs the two companies proposed earlier this year, but will be integrated together. Blue Origin will also be taking the lead on the entire project, while Lockheed Martin will train and lead the flight controllers who will manage the lander in space.

The two companies say that they came together after realizing the magnitude of what needed to be accomplished. “We recognize that there is an enormous amount to get done,” said Sherwood. “The schedule laid on top of that really highlights that. And so, to us the most sensible thing was to get together to try to deliver this to NASA.” However, Blue Origin still plans to develop and build the entire Blue Moon cargo lander system on its own to offer to other commercial customers. But for the Artemis program, this team approach is the focus.

Meanwhile, Draper is tasked with providing all the flight software for the system, which will provide guidance and navigation to the Moon. Northrop Grumman will create something of an in-space ferry for the lander, known as a transfer element. When not on the surface, the lander is meant to live at a new space station NASA wants to build around the Moon called the Gateway. Astronauts traveling from Earth will dock at the Gateway and climb into the landers on their way to the Moon’s surface. Even so, the Gateway won’t be close enough to the Moon’s surface for the lander to perform landings directly. That’s where the transfer element comes in. That ferry is necessary to take the lander from the station down to the right altitude above the Moon so that the lander can do its thing.

Both Northrop and Draper have lots of experience in their respective fields. Draper developed the guidance computer that took the Apollo human landers to the Moon in the 1960s and ‘70s. And Northrop says it will base the design of the transfer element on a spacecraft it already makes regularly: the Cygnus capsule it uses to send supplies to the International Space Station. The companies claim that by leveraging designs from systems they’ve already built, they should be able to meet the ambitious goal of 2024.

“By all of us coming together, taking existing systems that the government’s already invested in and we’ve already invested in seemed like the best use of the American public’s money and bringing it together and reusing those components,” Lisa Callahan, vice president and general manager for commercial civil space at Lockheed Martin Space, said during the press conference.

The companies didn’t go into detail about how they plan to build and test their vehicles. However, NASA has been clear that the agency does not have time to do an uncrewed landing demonstration with the vehicle prior to people boarding the lander. Blue Origin also claims that the lander elements can launch to the Moon on the New Glenn rocket that the company is currently developing. However, any capable rocket can do the trick. “It’s a flexible architecture, the elements of which can be launched on multiple commercial launch vehicles,” Sherwood said.

Of course, this partnership is largely contingent on NASA picking the companies to move ahead with their landing system for the Artemis system, which isn’t a done deal yet. That decision may come soon in the months ahead.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
×