NASA supports the Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef

Follow-up October News that Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin spaceflight company is planning to build its own commercial space in the low-lying Earth orbit, NASA announced Thursday that it has selected the program to raise funds through Space Act Agreement improve the design of the radio. The money is part of NASA LEO Development Business Program, which aims to “establish a strong commercial economy in LEO, including supporting the development of LEO’s trade and commerce.”

“We are pleased that NASA is supporting the development of the Orbital Reef, a way to transform the Earth orbit into a wide range of clients and industries,” Brent Sherwood, Vice President of Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin, said in a statement. The ship could serve as a “mixed business base” that could provide multiple turnkey jobs and reduce operating costs for low-income companies “including and meet the needs of ISS partners.”

Blue Origin collaborates with Sierra Space in the project and is already focusing on the station’s architecture and architecture – everything from its design and construction to freight management using the New Glenn heavy launch system – while the latter is tasked with designing the station. HEART (Large Integrated Flexible Environment). Boeing is also assisting, creating a support-science component and using its Starliner crew capsule. Genesis Engineering Solutions too. It operates on a one-person aircraft that guests and co-workers can accommodate.

Thursday’s announcement, surprisingly, comes at the end of a year when Blue Origin criticized NASA “”The choice of offer a monthly contract to match SpaceX to GAO, which immediately removed the claim. Blue Origin was the one who sent NASA – literally, challenged NASA – “in an attempt to correct the flaws found in the NASA Human Landing System,” a Blue Origin spokesman told Engadget in August. The company also lost the suit, but, hopefully, Thursday’s deal will be like a Bezos treatment that was badly injured.

The Orbital Reef team hopes to have its first modules around the end of the decade and further development takes place in the 2030s. But the Orbital Reef is not the only egg in NASA’s LEO network. Northrop Grumman announced Thursday that he too had signed the Space Act – $ 126 million – to create “free” flying spaces that will last forever at LEO for at least 15 years.

“Our station will enable us to transition from the International Space Station from LEO to the standard commercial services where NASA does not pay a full fee, but acts like one of the many clients,” said Steve Krein, vice president of Northrop Grumman. commercial area, he said in his own words. The company plans to use its existing Cygnus aircraft, Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), as the basis for the station’s design.

As part of its partnership with NASA, these development ideas will have to respond to all aspects of the “commercial, operational and feasibility” of radio. according to Northrop Grumman, “as well as the requirements for site design, effective mission strategies, risk assessment, key technical and market analysis requirements, and basic manufacturing activities.”