Identify a U.S. company that is not mentioned in this chapter but is now conducting or preparing to conduct commercial space tourism flights

QUESTION

Online Research Assignment

Identify a U.S. company that is not mentioned in this chapter but is now conducting or preparing to conduct commercial space tourism flights. Identify and describe the current status of that company`s:

a. Licensing b. Launch vehicle(s) and technique(s) (vertical or horizontal) c. Spacecraft d. Actual commercial cargo-and/or passenger-carrying spaceflights conducted e. Additional types of commercial cargo-and/or passenger-carrying spacecraft and spaceflight operations in development.

ANSWER

Blue Origin: Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is a U.S. company that is actively preparing to conduct commercial space tourism flights.

a. Licensing: Blue Origin has obtained the necessary licenses from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its space tourism operations. They have also obtained a launch license for their New Shepard vehicle, which allows them to conduct commercial launches.

b. Launch vehicle(s) and technique(s): Blue Origin’s launch vehicle for space tourism is called New Shepard. It utilizes a vertical launch technique, where the vehicle takes off vertically from the ground.

c. Spacecraft: The spacecraft used by Blue Origin for space tourism is also called New Shepard. It is a reusable suborbital vehicle that can carry passengers and scientific payloads to the edge of space. The spacecraft consists of a crew capsule and a propulsion module.

d. Actual commercial cargo-and/or passenger-carrying spaceflights conducted: Blue Origin has not yet conducted any commercial passenger flights as of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021. However, they have conducted multiple successful test flights of the New Shepard vehicle with unmanned payloads.

e. Additional types of commercial cargo-and/or passenger-carrying spacecraft and spaceflight operations in development: Blue Origin has plans to develop and launch a larger orbital vehicle called New Glenn. New Glenn will be capable of carrying both crew and cargo to orbit. While New Glenn’s primary focus is not space tourism, it could potentially be used for such purposes in the future.