Updates Blue Origin New Shepard News and Updates

[Ravenous]

Silly question - but doesn't the SpaceX stage fall from approximately the same height as this one? This New Shepard configuration is obviously a lot smaller and isn't carrying an upper stage capable of reaching orbital velocity, but isn't its overall job the same as for SpaceX - to get above the atmosphere and then back down again?

 

[kerlix]

Silly question - but doesn't the SpaceX stage fall from approximately the same height as this one? This New Shepard configuration is obviously a lot smaller and isn't carrying an upper stage capable of reaching orbital velocity, but isn't its overall job the same as for SpaceX - to get above the atmosphere and then back down again?

I'm not sure how 'accurate' that video/animation was.

According to the video, New Shepard more or less went straight up, reach apogee, and then fell back to earth - in the general vicinity of the launch pad.

Falcon9R would be putting a lot of distance between itself and the pad/launch area. I think this makes the entire fly-back and final accuracy determination much more difficult.

Not saying it isn't impressive. I couldn't build a rocket to begin with, so who am I to judge? It's still cool.

 

[RisingFury]

Silly question - but doesn't the SpaceX stage fall from approximately the same height as this one? This New Shepard configuration is obviously a lot smaller and isn't carrying an upper stage capable of reaching orbital velocity, but isn't its overall job the same as for SpaceX - to get above the atmosphere and then back down again?

The SpaceX F9 stage might fall from about the same height, but it's a bit more tricky than that. It's also moving sideways at great speed. That speed first needs to be shed.

The SpaceX F9 stage also has the disadvantage of having much more thrust than it needs to, so it has to come down very quickly. That's a problem for the guidance - it has less time to determine the flight path of the rocket. Every guidance system lags behind the actual vehicle by a bit, so the prediction of where the vehicle is has to be better for SpaceX.

The actual touchdown is also a bit trickier. The rocket needs to throttle so that the velocity reaches 0 right at touchdown.


Let's not diminish the achievement of Blue Origin, because it's impressive. But it's not in the same class as SpaceX.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Blue Origin is using New Shepard as a way to gain experience with higher, faster, and more powerful vehicles before moving on to something similar to the Falcon 9R. They realize that this is tricky stuff, so they're working on it in steps. SpaceX, on the other hand, basically took a swan dive into the deep end, and it shows.

 

[RisingFury]

Blue Origin is using New Shepard as a way to gain experience with higher, faster, and more powerful vehicles before moving on to something similar to the Falcon 9R. They realize that this is tricky stuff, so they're working on it in steps. SpaceX, on the other hand, basically took a swan dive into the deep end, and it shows.

There's a huge difference between New Shepard and Falcon 9. The road from one to the other is long. Your comparison is about as valid as driving a bike to practice for a car licence exam.

 

[Pipcard]

So is the Grasshopper and F9R Dev to the Falcon 9R.

Blue Origin is planning to have an orbital launch system.

(The "swan dive" allows SpaceX to test reusable rocket technology on the same flight as a satellite launch.)

 

[RGClark]

Historic Rocket Landing - YouTube
Seems to have a better control system than their competitors... :shifty:

Quite notably it did have hovering capability. Thus it had time to correct deviations from the vertical as it descended.

Hovering capability for the reusable Falcon 9, page 2: Merlin engines in a pressure-fed mode?
http://exoscientist.blogspot.com/2015/07/hovering-capability-for-reusable-falcon.html

Bob Clark

 

[Urwumpe]

Quite notably it did have hovering capability. Thus it had time to correct deviations from the vertical as it descended.

Sure, but if you watch the video, the rocket also managed to stabilize its descent much sooner and maintained it until nearly reaching the landing pad, needing only minor corrections afterwards. A big difference to the F9R, which is fighting with its own instability from the first firing of the engine during descent on. Surely the lower horizontal velocity makes a difference there, but because of the ballistic descent of both rockets, we are only speaking of a few degrees flight path angle difference. I would say that sloshing and lack of rigidity in comparison to the New Shepard is the bigger difference.

I am not sure if that is just a lucky landing or that it really managed to put its flight path that good towards the pad that only smaller final corrections in hover are needed.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

I am not sure if that is just a lucky landing or that it really managed to put its flight path that good towards the pad that only smaller final corrections in hover are needed.

The team at Blue seems to share this view. Until they can repeatedly stick the landing with that level of accuracy, this landing falls under the "luck" header.

 

[Frilock]

The team at Blue seems to share this view. Until they can repeatedly stick the landing with that level of accuracy, this landing falls under the "luck" header.

Was this their first attempt?

 

[kevinkin]

I would like to shake hands with the first volunteers before they launch. And be there beneficiaries.

Kevin

 

[boogabooga]

What I find to be an interesting enigma:

The company that mostly relies on government and commercial contracts from established professional entities has an enormous PR machine that hypes every attempt at such things months in advance.

The company that will rely on getting average joe millionaire to be excited about going to space with them is extremely reserved and only announces successes they day after.

Yes, you can list the logical reasons for why this is the case. ON the surface, it is interesting.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Was this their first attempt?

No. Second. First one lawn darted. No official news I've seen explained why. :shrug:

As I keep saying to people... Space is HARD. If it was easy, we'd be on Mars. :lol:

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Historic Rocket Landing - YouTube
Seems to have a better control system than their competitors... :shifty:

That altitude deceleration was something - it was like it dropped into clear Jello. Impressive. It's a roller coaster ride to 100.1 km, but still impressive.

Does the capsule have any sort of pad abort mechanism?

 

[Andy44]

In all these promo vids for suborbital tourism they always show the CGI passengers unbuckling and floating around the cabin. You get a few minutes at most and then you'd better be strapped back in for re-entry. I wonder how well that's going to work with a bunch of large-ego rich space amateurs.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

This is an apples and oranges comparison. SpaceX is recovering from Mach 10 and suborbital. Blue team went straight up (basically) and recovered. Both are pretty freakin' difficult accomplishments.

I seem to recall the F9R (prior to it's demise) reach 1000 meters, hover and land on an offset pad?

The Blue Origin guys have made a great achievment, but to say that they are pulling ahead of SpaceX is a reach.

my $0.02

 

[MaverickSawyer]

That altitude deceleration was something - it was like it dropped into clear Jello. Impressive. It's a roller coaster ride to 100.1 km, but still impressive.

Does the capsule have any sort of pad abort mechanism?

Yes. There's a solid rocket motor integrated into the base of the capsule.

---------- Post added at 22:17 ---------- Previous post was at 22:15 ----------

In all these promo vids for suborbital tourism they always show the CGI passengers unbuckling and floating around the cabin. You get a few minutes at most and then you'd better be strapped back in for re-entry. I wonder how well that's going to work with a bunch of large-ego rich space amateurs.

I think there's a minimum level of following instructions required before they take you out to the pad. Weed out the stupid ones, y'know?

 

[Andy44]

I think there's a minimum level of following instructions required before they take you out to the pad. Weed out the stupid ones, y'know?

The more money you have, the stupider you get to be.

And in any case, you never know who the stupid ones are until it really counts.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

The more money you have, the stupider you get to be.

And in any case, you never know who the stupid ones are until it really counts.

Sadly true on both counts.:facepalm:

 

[Col_Klonk]

People that fly in glass spaceships shouldn't throw...oh wait. :lol:

..Asteroids ?
:lol: