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Blue Origin joins SpaceX and ULA in new round of military launch contracts

✇Ars Technica
By: Stephen Clark
14 June 2024 at 19:19
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on the launch pad for testing earlier this year.

Enlarge / Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on the launch pad for testing earlier this year. (credit: Blue Origin)

After years of lobbying, protests, and bidding, Jeff Bezos's space company is now a military launch contractor.

The US Space Force announced Thursday that Blue Origin will compete with United Launch Alliance and SpaceX for at least 30 military launch contracts over the next five years. These launch contracts have a combined value of up to $5.6 billion.

This is the first of two major contract decisions the Space Force will make this year as the military seeks to foster more competition among its roster of launch providers and reduce its reliance on just one or two companies.

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Ed Dwight Goes to Space 63 Years After Training as 1st Black Astronaut

✇NYT: Science
By: Amanda Holpuch
19 May 2024 at 18:34
Edward Dwight was among the first pilots that the United States was training to send to space in 1961, but he was passed over. On Sunday, he finally made it on a Blue Origin flight.

© Blue Origin, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Edward Dwight was one of six people who went to space aboard the Mission NS-25 crew capsule from Blue Origin on Sunday. Upon exiting, he raised his arm and said, “Long time coming.”

Edward Dwight, Once Picked to Be the First Black Astronaut in Space, Aims for Space at Last

✇NYT: Science
By: Matt Richtel
30 April 2024 at 07:55
Six decades ago, Mr. Dwight’s shot at becoming the first Black astronaut in space was thwarted by racism and politics. Now, at 90, he’s finally going up.

© Nathan Bajar for The New York Times

“My whole life has been about getting things done,” said Edward Dwight, a retired pilot, current sculptor and future crew member on a Blue Origin mission into space. “This is the culmination.”
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