[justaguyonline]

They were always the most likely buyer if you were paying attention.

I admit to being pretty disappointed at the confirmation though. Blue Origin would of done just fine without this merger and 3+ companies competing for US space launches instead of 2 would of been healthier.

Maybe Tony Bruno will launch his own space company? I always thought Boeing and Lockheed were holding him back.

[imglorp]

Why would BO have done fine? In 24 years, they haven’t gotten one gram to orbit. Something appears very wrong over there.

[cubefox]

They are close to finishing New Glenn, their next rocket that is better than ULA's Vulcan in pretty much every way. They will probably launch this year. Currently they are testing the launch hardware. There is an update from today:

https://www.blueorigin.com/news/blue-origin-debuts-new-glenn...

Yes, ULA will have finished Vulcan about a year earlier, but otherwise Blue Origin seems way ahead of ULA in terms of technology. ULA didn't even develop the Vulcan first stage engines, the most complex part of a rocket. I really don't see what Blue Origin expects to get out of ULA. Blue Origin doesn't need Vulcan, they will soon have something that is better in every way: New Glenn will have a reusable first stage and a higher launch mass.

> In 24 years, they haven’t gotten one gram to orbit.

ULA has launched a lot, but mostly with over 20 year old rocket designs that are based on even older rockets.

[blkhawk]

>> In 24 years, they haven’t gotten one gram to orbit.

> ULA has launched a lot, but mostly with over 20 year old rocket designs that are > based on even older rockets.

by that metric the butcher around the corner here is better than ULA. He makes model rockets as a hobby and just tested one he just build and designed last year. And since it was designed last year and not a decade ago its also a newer design than New Glen. so its better?

Yes if New Glen works as designed and they can launch it it will probably better than what ULA now has. But that doesn't change the fact that BO has nothing yet.

[cubefox]

It still seems pretty likely that New Glenn will be launching relatively soon. Within one year probably, despite them not having launched an orbital rocket ever before. That wouldn't be far behind ULA's Vulcan, which first launched in January. Though Blue Origin also has a lot more employees than ULA: 11,000 vs 2,700.

[blkhawk]

sure - probably yes. but blankly giving them the benefit of doubt and just saying that they actually are better if they haven't lauched anything to orbit when comparing them to another company that launches stuff is not wise.

[quartesixte]

Yeah happy hour stories about their very methodical, glacial pace of development + decision to make a really big engine from Day 1 abound.

BO is Old Space wrapped in New Space.

[philwelch]

Blue isn’t doing fine on their own and part of me suspects this is Jeff’s elaborate ploy to hire Tory Bruno.

[pinewurst]

I think ULA did a good enough job of that on its own. They’re like the US Steel of space. A great combination with Blue Origin’s own massive expenditures on recapitulating aerospace sclerosis. :)

[photonbeam]

I hope Tory goes to rocketlab and works on their neutron rocket