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Ukulele_Maestro t1_j7zczey wrote

Reply to comment by ChrisJD11 in Blue Origin awarded NASA launch contract for Mars mission (Studying magnetic field) by kuroimakina

Hmm.

NASA awarded pretty big contracts to spacex for lunar lander and starship. That's a platform under development and not at all proven yet.

Blue origin has a similar rocket, blue Glen. NASA wants more commercial launch providers, so a mission like this to cut the teeth of new Glen is a great thing.

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robertojh_200 t1_j80az62 wrote

SpaceX is the most advanced launch organization in history, lapping the rest of the world twice over in mass to orbit with a nearly perfect safety record and dirt cheap vehicles.

Blue origin hasn’t been to orbit and their suborbital rocket just failed.

Investing in starship is smart based on track record, blue origin? They literally have no track record.

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ketchupthrower t1_j80kv17 wrote

It's in NASA's interest for their to be healthy competition. They don't want to be reliant on the whims of SpaceX (and by extension Musk). SpaceX being dominant is an argument for diversifying the contracts.

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ZooZooChaCha t1_j83suvr wrote

NASA has learned its lesson about relying on one provider. Imagine if Boeing was the only commercial crew provider, or when the Space Shuttle was supposed to be the only satellite launch provider in the 80s.

It’s great that SpaceX has succeeded - but you know what’s better? Competition and an equally successful Blue Origin.

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robertojh_200 t1_j83zpv5 wrote

That’s all well and good but blue origin has not proven the ability to be successful, even with a sub orbital joyride. Throwing money at the problem won’t solve anything, this is Amazon We are talking about, Jeff Bezos. Money isn’t the issue, it’s management, it’s pipe lining, I don’t want to say it’s talent because I know there’s plenty of talented people there. But blue origin is a laughingstock in the industry for a reason, and it’s going to take more than contracts to get them to a point where they can compete with SpaceX. They already have contracts with other private launch companies, they license out their engine, but they have been holding them back because of their constant delays. If blue origin wasn’t causing so many delays, there probably would be more substantial competition in the industry right now from other launch companies.

I don’t see how they are ready for a Mars contract within the next 10 years

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ZooZooChaCha t1_j853u0u wrote

There was a time when SpaceX was the laughingstock as well. Gwen Shotwell is primarily the reason things didn’t end with Falcon 1. Even when NASA gave SpaceX a shot with commercial cargo and later commercial crew, people were skeptical. And if it weren’t for those contracts, SpaceX doesn’t make it.

Blue Origin had one “failure” so far for suborbital and the vehicle performed exactly the way it should in an emergency.

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Bewaretheicespiders t1_j7zpfm3 wrote

>Blue origin has a similar rocket, blue Glen.

Do they, though?

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Ukulele_Maestro t1_j7zqrw0 wrote

Starship is further along in development in that a prototype exists, but yeah they are both under development.

Blue origin has spent a billion dollars on manufacturering facilities to build new Glenn. That to me shows they are serious about building it and we should see the first prototype rolling out sometime soon

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Bewaretheicespiders t1_j7zrwge wrote

Ive worked for enough startups to know that spending money means nothing.

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Ukulele_Maestro t1_j7zsffu wrote

Then you should know also that starship could be a complete failure too.

But I get it. SpaceX good blue origin bad. That's the thought process around here.

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Bewaretheicespiders t1_j7zu779 wrote

Starship has flown hops and landed and its from an enterprises that not only has gone to orbit, but is the planet's premier launch service provider.

New Glen is a couple of pictures of incomplete tanks and fairings.

If Blue Origin wants to be taken seriously, they gotta actually make an orbital rocket and actually go to orbit. You can't just burn money without results and expect people to take you seriously. Its been what, 20 years? I think people (and Nasa) have been patient with them.

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