๐๐บ Eh Brah, Blue Origin Goinโ Take Astronauts to da Moon ๐
Ho, you know Jeff Bezos, da rich guy who wenโ start Amazon? He get one rocket company, Blue Origin, and he been trying for make ‘um to da moon. Da first time, he no win da contract, cuz NASA wen’ choose SpaceX. But now, on top his second try, Bezos and Blue Origin finally scored!๐๐๐ฐ
On one Friday, NASA wen’ announce dat they going give one contract to Bezos’ Blue Origin for make one lunar lander for one moon mission dat going happen in 2029. Da spacecraft, called Blue Moon, going be about 50-feet-tall and can carry four astronauts to da moon’s surface. And for dis, NASA going shell out $3.4 billion. That’s plenny kala, yeah?๐ธ๐๐๐จโ๐
Da mission, called Artemis V, part of NASA’s Artemis program where they try for send astronauts back to da moon for explore da south pole region. Da astronauts going land on da moon in one vehicle built by SpaceX for da Artemis III and IV missions.๐๐ฉโ๐๐ญ๐
Da big kahuna of Blue Origin for lunar transportation, one guy named John Couluris, said dat his company going put in plenny more kala than da NASA contract amount for da development work. And if get any extra cost, Blue Origin going take care of ‘um, not NASA.๐ฐ๐๐
Bill Nelson, da boss man of NASA, said during da announcement, “We like more competition. Means get reliability. Get backups.” He said dis at da NASA’s headquarters in Washington.๐จโ๐ผ๐ฃ๏ธ๐ข๐บ๐ธ
Lisa Watson-Morgan, da one in charge for da human landing system program at NASA, said da second lander “helps us with a more diversified industrial base, and that will help us advance innovation in the future.”๐ฉโ๐ผ๐๐๐ก
Winning dis contract could mean one good comeback year for Blue Origin. They had couple rough times, like when one of their New Shepard vehicles, which only go to space but no orbit, wen’ fail during one launch in September. But now they figured out what wen’ happen and hope for try again later dis year with space tourists and scientific cargo.๐๐๐๐บ
Get couple things made by Blue Origin dat might finally get used for one orbital mission soon. Da company wen’ build engines for da booster stage of da Vulcan rocket, which is being made by United Launch Alliance, one partnership of da big aerospace companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin.๐ง๐๐
For win da lunar lander contract, Blue Origin, with help from other aerospace companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, wen’ beat one team led by Dynetics, one defense company from Huntsville, Ala.๐๐ค๐๐
Da Blue Moon lander designed for fit inside da 23-foot-wide diameter of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, and when full with propellants, going weigh more than 45 metric tons.๐ ๏ธ๐๐
For Artemis V, da lander going first dock at Gateway, one small outpost in orbit around da moon. Four astronauts going travel to Gateway in another spacecraft, NASA’s Orion capsule. Then they going transfer to da Blue Moon lander for stay near da lunar south pole for about one week.๐๐๐ฐ๏ธ๐จโ๐
After their visit to da moon, da lander going blast off and return to Gateway, and da Orion capsule going take all four astronauts back to Earth. Da same lander could be used for several missions.๐๐๐๐จโ๐
One second Blue Origin spacecraft going be needed for bring liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from Earth to da moon’s orbit for refill da propellant tanks of da Blue Moon. Transferring propellants in da near-weightless environment of space, especially da ultracold liquid hydrogen, tricky and never yet been shown on one large scale.๐๐โฝ๐ฆ
Mr. Couluris said Blue Origin going do one test flight of da lander in 2028, one year before it’s supposed to be used for astronauts.๐๐จโ๐๐
Mr. Couluris also said da lunar lander could be set up for carry 30 metric tons of cargo instead of passengers, “for form da foundation of habitats and other permanent infrastructure” on da moon’s surface.๐๐ฆ๐
In 2021, Blue Origin and Dynetics were bummed out when NASA wen’ give SpaceX one fixed $2.9 billion contract for build a variation of its giant Starship vehicle that would land astronauts on da moon for da first time in more than half a century.๐๐จโ๐๐๐ธ
Da two companies protested da decision, but da federal Government Accountability Office said no to their protests. Then Blue Origin tried for sue in federal court and again wen’ lose.๐ค๐ผโ๏ธ
Last September, after getting a bigger budget from Congress, NASA announced one competition for a second lunar lander. Dynetics and Blue Origin decided for try again, even though get some shuffle around of da companies participating in da efforts. Northrop Grumman, which was part of Blue Origin’s original proposal, switched to da Dynetics team.๐๐ธ๐๐
But no going reach da moon for a while yet.๐๐๐
SpaceXโs initial $2.9 billion contract was for provide da lander for da first moon landing during Artemis III, which is currently planned for late 2025 but might slip to 2026 or later. In November, NASA decided to pay $1.15 billion more in that contract for SpaceX to provide a lander for Artemis IV too, one mission dat is scheduled for 2028.๐๐๐๐ฐ
After Artemis V, NASA going have da chance for choose between da SpaceX and Blue Origin designs for later missions. Eventually, companies and people outside of NASA could also buy rides on da Blue Moon. “We do have a number of entities that are interested,” Mr. Couluris said.๐๐๐จโ๐๐ธ
NOW IN ENGLISH
๐๐บ Hey there, Blue Origin is Preparing to Take Astronauts to the Moon ๐
Do you know Jeff Bezos, the wealthy entrepreneur who founded Amazon? He has a rocket company, Blue Origin, that has been attempting to reach the moon. The first time they bid for the contract, they didn’t win because NASA chose SpaceX. However, on their second attempt, Bezos and Blue Origin finally succeeded!๐๐๐ฐ
On a recent Friday, NASA announced that they would be awarding a contract to Bezos’ Blue Origin to construct a lunar lander for a moon mission scheduled to occur in 2029. The spacecraft, named Blue Moon, will stand about 50-feet-tall and can transport four astronauts to the moon’s surface. For this, NASA is prepared to spend $3.4 billion. That’s quite a hefty sum, isn’t it?๐ธ๐๐๐จโ๐
The mission, named Artemis V, is a part of NASA’s Artemis program which aims to send astronauts back to the moon to explore the south pole region. The astronauts are expected to land on the moon in a vehicle built by SpaceX for the Artemis III and IV missions.๐๐ฉโ๐๐ญ๐
The head of lunar transportation at Blue Origin, a gentleman named John Couluris, stated that his company is willing to invest significantly more than the NASA contract amount for development work. And should there be any extra costs, Blue Origin will take care of it, not NASA.๐ฐ๐๐
Bill Nelson, the head of NASA, stated during the announcement, “We appreciate more competition. It leads to reliability. It gives us backups.” He made this statement at NASA’s headquarters in Washington.๐จโ๐ผ๐ฃ๏ธ๐ข๐บ๐ธ
Lisa Watson-Morgan, the person responsible for the human landing system program at NASA, stated that the second lander “assists us with a more diversified industrial base, and that will help us advance innovation in the future.”๐ฉโ๐ผ๐๐๐ก
Winning this contract could signify a good comeback year for Blue Origin. They’ve had a few difficult times, such as when one of their New Shepard vehicles, which can only reach space but doesn’t orbit, failed during a launch in September. But they have now identified the issue and plan to retry later this year with space tourists and scientific cargo.๐๐๐๐บ
There are a few items manufactured by Blue Origin that might finally be utilized for an orbital mission soon. The company has built engines for the booster stage of the Vulcan rocket, which is being constructed by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of the major aerospace companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin.๐ง๐๐
To win the lunar lander contract, Blue Origin, with assistance from other aerospace companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, beat a team led by Dynetics, a defense company from Huntsville, Ala.๐๐ค๐๐
The Blue Moon lander is designed to fit inside the 23-foot-wide diameter of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, and when fully loaded with propellants, it will weigh more than 45 metric tons.๐ ๏ธ๐๐
For Artemis V, the lander will first dock at Gateway, a small outpost in orbit around the moon. Four astronauts will travel to Gateway in another spacecraft, NASA’s Orion capsule. They will then transfer to the Blue Moon lander and stay near the lunar south pole for about a week.๐๐๐ฐ๏ธ๐จโ๐
After their visit to the moon, the lander will take off and return to Gateway, and the Orion capsule will bring all four astronauts back to Earth. The same lander could be used for multiple missions.๐๐๐๐จโ๐
Another Blue Origin spacecraft will be required to transport liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from Earth to the moon’s orbit to refill the propellant tanks of the Blue Moon. Transferring propellants in the near-weightless environment of space, especially ultracold liquid hydrogen, is a complex process and has yet to be demonstrated on a large scale.๐๐โฝ๐ฆ
Mr. Couluris stated that Blue Origin will conduct a test flight of the lander in 2028, a year before it’s scheduled to be used for astronauts.๐๐จโ๐๐
Mr. Couluris also indicated that the lunar lander could be configured to transport 30 metric tons of cargo instead of passengers, “to form the foundation of habitats and other permanent infrastructure” on the moon’s surface.๐๐ฆ๐
In 2021, Blue Origin and Dynetics were disappointed when NASA awarded SpaceX a fixed $2.9 billion contract to build a variant of its colossal Starship vehicle that would land astronauts on the moon for the first time in more than half a century.๐๐จโ๐๐๐ธ
The two companies protested the decision, but the federal Government Accountability Office denied their protests. Blue Origin then tried to sue in federal court and lost again.๐ค๐ผโ๏ธ
Last September, following a larger budget allocation from Congress, NASA announced a competition for a second lunar lander. Dynetics and Blue Origin decided to try again, despite some reorganization of the companies participating in the efforts. Northrop Grumman, which was part of Blue Origin’s original proposal, switched to the Dynetics team.๐๐ธ๐๐
But the moon won’t be reached for a while yet.๐๐๐
SpaceXโs initial $2.9 billion contract was to provide the lander for the first moon landing during Artemis III, which is currently planned for late 2025 but may be postponed to 2026 or later. In November, NASA decided to pay an additional $1.15 billion on that contract for SpaceX to provide a lander for Artemis IV too, a mission that is scheduled for 2028.๐๐๐๐ฐ
After Artemis V, NASA will have the opportunity to choose between the SpaceX and Blue Origin designs for later missions. Eventually, companies and individuals outside of NASA could also purchase rides on the Blue Moon. “We do have a number of entities that are interested,” Mr. Couluris stated.๐๐๐จโ๐๐ธ
