Posted on 04/19/2026 9:19:32 AM PDT by srmanuel
Jeff Bezos just posted on Twitter/X that Blue Origin has successfully landed a booster and posted a video of the landing. The first person to congratulate him was Elon Musk....
https://x.com/JeffBezos/status/2045874068763632017
Kind of amazing that two US private companies have successfully landed boosters, but no other space agency or country has duplicated the feat, not Russia, China, EU, etc.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Good for BO, but they’re only about a decade behind SpaceX (and with no existing network of revenue-producing satellites to fund further R&D). I am glad that another PRIVATE American entity has done “the impossible” and developed a reusable rocket. Seems that things aren’t impossible for determined Americans...just so that the rest of the world knows this. Wait til Elon puts a few million robots on the Moon to mine its resources and send them into Earth orbit....
“I would love to cheer Capitalism In Space, but the almost lackadaisical pace at Blue Origin is disturbing. Eventually there will be many more rocket/launch companies. There are at least 4 private space stations in the works.”
“I think Blue Origin’s goals are much less grand than SpaceX, I think their opportunity to provide launch capabilities to other countries will fairly large going forward, add in private satellite launches, there should be enough business to go around.”
The Lunar Gateway has been cancelled.
The SpaceX lander has a literal mountain of hurdles it has to pass in order to win the contract; without cutting corners there is no way that that lander will be man-rated and certified by 2028 or even 2030.
Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander is nothing like the Apollo lander. It will ride on the Artemis III mission, if it manages to pass a slightly smaller mountain of hurdles than the ones facing SpaceX and win the contract. It could beat SpaceX by a year or so around 2029.
As you might see from any realistic projection for Artemis III, it may not happen in 2028-2030 time frame.
SpaceX and Blue Moon have to show proof that they can land on the Moon in un-crewed tests <- note the plural. Will the 50’ tall SpaceX lander topple over on the most rugged terrain on the Moon? Will its elevator work? more than once? Can Blue Moon deploy its multi-staged 20’ ladder?
Will the Chinese be there to watch the tests? If they grant permission to land that is, since the Chinese mission will be militarized.
Blue Origin failed to deliver AST SAT to its intended Orbit.
Delivering Payloads Sucessfully is Job # 1.
Landing a booster is secondary.
Detroit made an electric car.
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