The executive in charge of Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital space program has laid out plans to scale up the operation for weekly launches — and says the company is looking into setting up a second launch site, perhaps outside the U.S.
Phil Joyce, Blue Origin’s senior vice president for New Shepard, discussed the road ahead over the weekend at the Global Spaceport Alliance’s International Spaceport Forum in Sydney, Australia. His remarks were reported by Aviation Week as well as SpaceNews.
Customer demand is a major factor behind the expansion plans. “The demand is really strong,” SpaceNews quoted Joyce as saying. “We’re continuing to see sales every week, every day.” Blue Origin’s backlog reportedly extends more than a year out.
To meet the demand, Jeff Bezos’ space venture plans to phase in three next-generation New Shepard rocket ships starting next year, Joyce said. Those vehicles would be powered by an upgraded version of Blue Origin’s hydrogen-fueled BE-3 engine.
The plan calls for retiring the two reusable rocket ships that are currently carrying crew by the end of 2027.
