Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has announced a new spacecraft that promises to help humanity build and maintain projects in outer space.
The company today debuted Blue Ring, a so-called “space platform” that can orbit Earth, but also travel around the Moon, with the goal of providing delivery and logistics support to other space projects.
To do so, Blue Ring functions as a maneuverable platform that can host, transport, and refuel other spacecraft. In addition, it can relay data while also offering an “in-space” cloud computing capability, according to Blue Origin’s announcement.
“Blue Ring addresses two of the most difficult challenges in spaceflight today: growing space infrastructure and increasing mobility on-orbit,” says Blue Origin SVP Paul Ebertz. “We're offering our customers the ability to easily access and maneuver through a variety of orbits cost-effectively while having access to critical data to ensure a successful mission.”
Other rockets, particularly those from rival SpaceX, can already send satellites up into predictable orbits around Earth. In contrast, Blue Ring is designed to serve customers for more “dynamic” space projects at varying orbits, Blue Origin Lars Hoffman VP tells Aviation Week.
“It has a lot of capability and a lot of energy. It is a platform that has versatility across multiple missions and multiple customers on any given launch,” Hoffman says.
The company adds that Blue Ring can travel with payloads of over 6,600 pounds. According to Aviation Week, Blue Origin is eyeing 2025 as a realistic launch date for the spacecraft, which has already received some interest from customers.
Hoffman also says Blue Ring will be “launch-vehicle agnostic,” allowing it to fly on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket or Blue Origin’s own New Glenn, which is aiming to be used in its first mission next year.