Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, thus far, has only conducted suborbital flights using its New Shepard rocket, known for sending celebrities and space tourists to the edge of space, most notably, Star Trek's "Captain Kirk", actor William Shatner.
This will be Blue Origin's first big government contract. They will be among the 13 companies selected by NASA that will provide various launch services with a maximum contract of $300 million.
The ESCAPADE mission is slated to launch in late 2024 aboard Blue Origin's New Glen rocket from Space Launch Complex-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
The mission involves sending two spacecraft designed and built by Rocket Lab, named "Blue" and "Gold" out of the Earth's atmosphere and on their way toward Mars. The journey takes approximately 11 months.
Once in space, the twin spacecraft will separate and orbit the Red Planet to collect data about the Martian atmosphere and the local solar wind environment in real time. The overall mission is led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory.
Related Links
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