It awarded 38 to ULA’s Vulcan, which already has nine other launches lined up on its existing Atlas rockets. Half of Amazon’s constellation has to be launched by 2026 under the current approval from the Federal Communications Commission, and hence the massive need for rocket launches announced earlier this year. New Glenn missed out on a lucrative Space Force contract in late 2020 awarded to ULA and SpaceX that would have given New Glenn more incentive to speed up readiness, but has since landed a slew of commercial launch orders, including a piece of Bezos’ plans for his company Amazon to launch thousands of internet satellites as part of the Project Kuiper constellation that would compete with existing constellations such as OneWeb and SpaceX’s Starlink.īlue Origin was awarded 12 launches on its New Glenn with an option for 15 more as part of an Amazon plan for as many as 83 launches to send the majority of 3,236 satellites into orbit by 2029. Other rocket companies such as SpaceX with DOD contracts already have engines made in the U.S. The company manufactures aerospace crafts and provides sub-orbital spaceflight services. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), founded Blue Origin in 2000. (Tony Gutierrez / AP) Jeff Bezos Blue Origin is slated to launch its fourth space tourism.
We’re looking for people who share that passion and want to turn their career into a calling. ULA continues to launch missions on its remaining stable of Atlas rockets that use the Russian-made RD-180 first-stage engines.Ĭongress passed a law in 2014 and amended in 2016 that requires U.S.-based DOD launches to steer away from Russian made engines by 2022, and the BE-4 satisfies that need. Blue Origin is a commercial space company. Blue Origins New Shepard rocket launches from its spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, on July 20, 2021. At Blue Origin, our genuine passion for space exploration is evident through the work we do. ULA’s VP of Government and Commercial Programs Gary Wentz said in July that Vulcan is still on track for a launch before the end of the year, and that it has two certification flights on tap before the first of three launches for the Department of Defense in 2023. Here is a picture of the freshly COMPLETED BE4 Flight Engine #1 for Vulcan's first flight, in the stand at 's factory.