Blue Origin Aerospace (updates)

By DocM
in Science News & Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Blue-Vision

Posted
Posted

Yep. No biggie ... well it is but it isn't. It's a natural part of Engineering. Find out the failure points during development so that those failure points can be addressed and eliminated. :yes:

 

They'll learn more from failures sometimes than from successes. SpaceX has said that on numerous occasions -- that's how Falcon-9's learned how to land, after all. We saw them get closer and closer ... tweak this parameter, then tweak a couple over here, and so on, 'till it "just works".

 

Blue will follow the same steps. They've got a very smart, capable group of people who know what they're doing. To echo Shotwell's sentiment, if Blue wasn't destroying gear then we should be worried.

 

Nope ... BE-4 will be just fine. Take this as a good omen. Blowing a generator means that the turbopump is outputting harder than expected. That's a good thing. :D(Y) Means there's power to spare, which means the BE-4 is gonna be that much better of an engine.

 

SpaceX likes that kind of competition -- because the Engineers on both sides will start trying to "one-up" each other with innovation and great hardware. In this scenario, we all win. :yes: 

  • 3 months later...
Grand Master

DocM

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Making very large launchers economical is a reusability side effect. 

 

For example, why do 200 launches to field a large constellation of medium sized satellites when you can do it with 30-50 launches on a large reusable rocket?

 

Large-diameter cores and fairings also allow for very large solar arrays, which would be very useful for larger solar electric satellites and deep space probes.

 

The military is interested in  that, plus large fairings can deploy very large antenna diameter listening satellites and radar-sats.

 

There's also that Blue has to keep up with SpaceX, whose subscale-ITS launcher is said to be a 9 meter core. That's larger than SLS's 8.4 m, and given the usual formula for maximum fairing diameter should allow for one of about 12 to 14 m.

 

Blue will have to field New Armstrong soon after New Glenn to keep up with that. 

Edited by DocM
  • Blue-Vision
  • Like 1
Grand Master

Blue-Vision

Posted
Posted

Yep. Everyone, everyone, is basing their future plans upon the "new measuring sticks" -- and quite frankly it's BO's and SpaceX's game now. A fresh, pompous breeze that has blown through and knocked every other complacent player in the game on their collective posterior.

 

Blue Origin has read the writing on the wall and adjusted their plans accordingly (good), while the "Old Guard" seems unable to come to terms with what they're even dealing with. And sure, Blue needs to run hard to keep up but I think they'll be okay. Nothing wrong with being Silver, having done the same training as the Gold Medalist, if it means you're still a mile and a half ahead of the Bronze Medal contestant, eh?

 

And I still like their new engine. I like Raptor better, buuut ... the BE-4 has got some jam. :yes: 

  • 2 months later...
Grand Master

DocM

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

They haven't quoted a price yet, but most  analysts say an initial price of $50,000-$100,000 is likely. Of course that may be significantly off either way, and after some of the development is amortized the price is likely to drop.

Edited by DocM
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Google reportedly set to lose two key Gemini and DeepMind researchers to Anthropic

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Google reportedly set to lose two key Gemini and DeepMind researchers to Anthropic by Karthik Mudaliar Google is reportedly preparing to lose two more prominent artificial intelligence researchers, with Gemini contributors Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel planning to join rival AI developer Anthropic. According to a report from Bloomberg, both researchers are viewed internally as important contributors to Google’s flagship Gemini model family. Adler worked on Google’s AI coding efforts, while Pritzel was involved in the process used to train AI systems. Neither company has publicly confirmed the moves. The report also does not say when the researchers will formally leave Google or what positions they will hold at Anthropic. Training a large AI model requires decisions covering its architecture, data preparation, distributed computing infrastructure, and post-training methods that shape how the finished system behaves. Researchers with experience operating at the scale of Gemini are consequently difficult to replace quickly. Both Adler and Pritzel have previously contributed to Google DeepMind’s scientific research as well. They are listed among the authors of the company’s work on expanding AlphaFold protein-structure predictions across entire proteomes, alongside AlphaFold researchers including John Jumper. The reported departures arrive shortly after another important change within Google’s Gemini organization. Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer is leaving Google for OpenAI, after returning to the search company in 2024 through its deal with Character.AI. Shazeer is particularly well known as one of the authors of the Transformer paper, whose architecture became the foundation for most modern large language models. Anthropic, meanwhile, has been recruiting recognizable figures from other leading laboratories. OpenAI co-founder and former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy joined Anthropic’s pre-training team in May. His move, followed by the reported recruitment of several Google researchers, suggests Anthropic is strengthening the research teams responsible for the core capabilities of future Claude models rather than concentrating solely on product and enterprise sales. The competition is complicated by the companies’ extensive commercial relationships. Anthropic competes directly with Google’s Gemini models, but it also relies on Google as an infrastructure partner. In April, Anthropic announced an expanded agreement with Google and Broadcom covering multiple gigawatts of next-generation Tensor Processing Unit capacity. TPUs are Google-designed accelerators used to train and run large AI models. via Bloomberg
    • Researchers claim Microsoft's quantum breakthrough is flawed by basic Python errors

      By Primey_ · Posted

      I understood about 10% of this article...
    • Google adds built-in computer control to Gemini 3.5 flash

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Google adds built-in computer control to Gemini 3.5 flash by Karthik Mudaliar Google has added Computer Use as a built-in tool in Gemini 3.5 Flash, giving developers a single model that can reason about a task and operate graphical interfaces across browsers, mobile devices, and desktop environments. The feature is available through the Gemini API and Google’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, although it remains a preview feature for now. Computer Use enables an AI agent to examine screenshots and return actions such as mouse clicks, scrolling, and keyboard input. A developer’s application must execute those actions, capture the resulting screen, and send it back to Gemini, creating a continuous loop until the task is completed. Google says the integration can be used for activities including repetitive form filling, application testing, research across multiple websites, and longer enterprise workflows. Gemini 3.5 Flash can work with browser, mobile, and desktop environments, whereas Google’s earlier standalone Computer Use model was primarily positioned around browser interaction. The main change is consolidation. Computer control was previously offered through the separate Gemini 2.5 Computer Use preview model. As Neowin reported when that model was introduced, it was designed to interpret a visual interface and generate actions without requiring a website-specific API. Google later brought Computer Use to preview versions of Gemini 3 Pro and Gemini 3 Flash in January 2026. The latest release now incorporates the tool into the stable Gemini 3.5 Flash model rather than requiring developers to select a specialized model solely for interface automation. Gemini 3.5 Flash itself was announced in May as Google’s latest fast model for coding and multi-step agent workflows. It supports a one-million-token input context window and up to 65,000 output tokens, along with adjustable thinking levels that let developers trade additional reasoning for lower latency and cost. Google also added that Gemini 3.5 Flash received targeted adversarial training for computer-use scenarios. The company is also offering safeguards that can require user confirmation before sensitive or irreversible actions and automatically stop a workflow when suspected prompt injection is detected. Its developer documentation describes configurable protections for areas such as financial transactions and changes to sensitive records. Google isn't the first to bring Computer Use to its platform. Anthropic has made computer control available through Claude, while OpenAI has continued improving computer-use performance in its recent models. Microsoft has also applied the concept to business workflows, including a Computer Use capability for the Researcher agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
    • Microsoft outs Windows 11 KB5095093 with long list of new features

      By wingliston · Posted

      After I installed KB5095093, the volume on my ARM laptop won't go above 20%. It's stuck on the hearing protection level, which is pretty much useless if you want to listen to anything. I rolled back.
    • Amazon Prime Day slashes Samsung's newest Galaxy Watch Ultra by 45 percent

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Amazon Prime Day slashes Samsung's newest Galaxy Watch Ultra by 45 percent by Karthik Mudaliar Samsung’s flagship Android smartwatch has received one of its steepest Prime Day cuts. Amazon has dropped the 2025 Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra in Titanium Blue to $357.24, saving buyers around $292 from its $649.99 list price. That's a 45 percent discount (purchase link below). The 47mm Galaxy Watch Ultra uses a titanium casing and a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 x 480 and peak brightness of 3,000 nits. It includes LTE connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, NFC, and dual-frequency L1+L5 GPS for more accurate outdoor route tracking. The 2025 model has 64GB of storage, a 590mAh battery, sapphire crystal glass, 10ATM water resistance, IP68 protection, and MIL-STD-810H durability testing. Its health and fitness tools include heart rate monitoring, sleep coaching, Energy Score, Running Coach, body composition analysis, temperature sensing, and ECG support, where available. This model is best suited to Android users who regularly run, hike, cycle, or train outdoors and want cellular access without carrying a phone. The larger battery, rugged construction, bright display, and dedicated Quick Button also make it a stronger option than Samsung’s regular Galaxy Watch models for extended workouts and demanding environments. Grab the Titanium Blue Galaxy Watch Ultra before the Prime Day price resets: Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (2025) [Sold and Shipped by Amazon] Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      D0nn13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Rookie
      +ChiefOfNeo went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Year In
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      One Year In

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      463
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      177
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      124
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      80
    5. 5
      Xenon
      76
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!