April 28, 2018: 8th successful launch of the New Shepard rocket of Blue Origin, the space company of the founder of Amazon. With this new success, the goal of Jeff Bezos to send tourists to space is about to be accomplished… not to mention the technological feats related to the purpose-developed internet.
New successful step
To achieve its ultimate goal of sending tourists into space by the end of 2018, Blue Origin needs to continue these flights to improve its performance and test its equipment. Once again, Jeff Bezos has been able to count on his reusable rocket, which has become the norm in the private aerospace field, as Elon Musk has said. On April 28, 2018, the launcher crossed the Karma line (the boundary between the atmosphere and space) to reach precisely 10,680 metres, 5% more than the preceding flight, before gently landing seven minutes later in the Texas desert. This flight was also the opportunity to make changes and bring new things to the capsule: acrylic windows, on-board test dummy (called Skywalker) and a handful of payloads such as sensors sent by NASA. The capsule’s landing went perfectly smoothly, with the capsule braked by its three parachutes and retrorocket. In less than 13 minutes, Jeff Bezos once again demonstrated that his small 30-person team was able to create the conditions for his bet to be successful.
Final goal in view
The voyage proposed by Jeff Bezos is unique: six passengers on board the capsule for eleven minutes at a cost of $200,000; an exceptional view of the universe thanks to the imposing portholes, an experience of weightlessness for five minutes and… the opportunity to take selfies. This last point, linked to the internet connection, is far from insignificant and is even the subject of major technological advances. Indeed, even though an internet connection has existed in space since 2013, its quality was worse than a telephone connection, according to Brian Barnett (former astronaut) and, with access to it being at the sole discretion of NASA, it was considered necessary to develop a “super-secret space communicator” within the capsule. Designed by Brian Barnett, it will allow passengers to have FaceTime with their Earthling friends. However, be aware that its mode of operation is well and truly secret, and will remain so for a long time. And yes, competition demands… Elon Musk’s SpaceX has just obtained permission from the Federal Communication Commission to create a constellation of 4425 interconnected satellites at 1100-1300 kilometres above the Earth and a second lower level of 7500 other satellites to offer high-speed internet to all Earthlings.
Blue Origin, SpaceX… Will private enterprise, constantly seeking profitability, not become the engine of technological advances, currently assisted by the aerospace world, by launching unrealistic challenges, structuring itself around small teams and setting itself tight deadlines?