Blue Origin Update

Awhile back, my friend, Hannes Hacker, emailed me with news of a possible launch -- from near the west Texas town of Van Horn -- of a suborbital space vehicle by a private firm called Blue Origin.

It seems that things went well.

We're working, patiently and step-by-step, to lower the cost of spaceflight so that many people can afford to go and so that we humans can better continue exploring the solar system. Accomplishing this mission will take a long time, and we're working on it methodically. We believe in incremental improvement and in keeping investments at a pace that's sustainable. Slow and steady is the way to achieve results, and we do not kid ourselves into thinking this will get easier as we go along. Smaller, more frequent steps drive a faster rate of learning, help us maintain focus, and give each of us an opportunity to see our latest work fly sooner.

Our first objective is developing New Shepard, a vertical take-off, vertical-landing vehicle designed to take a small number of astronauts on a sub-orbital journey into space.

On the morning of November 13, 2006, we launched and landed Goddard -- a first development vehicle in the New Shepard program. The launch was both useful and fun. Many friends and family came to watch the launch and support the team. [bold added]

This is exciting news! Follow the above link to see a nice set of photos of the event.

-- CAV