[imagesource:youtube]

Viewers can now get an exclusive glimpse behind the scenes of Blue Origin, courtesy of the YouTube channel Everyday Astronaut.

In a captivating hour-long video, Tim Dodd takes us on a guided tour of the New Glenn Factory, led by none other than the visionary founder, Jeff Bezos himself.

As Blue Origin states on its website, “New Glenn is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth,” marking a significant tribute to exploration and innovation.

“The rocket is engineered with the safety and redundancy required to fly humans, and will enable our vision of building a road to space for the benefit of Earth.”

The tour kicks off in the lobby where Dodd spots the company’s first rocket that landed in space, now just a display piece. Dodd notes that it’s only flown a handful of times and “now it’s just a lobby decoration,” he said.

The duo then transitioned to the heart of tank production, where the Amazon CEO delved into the intricacy of welding and assembling the barrel sections. Each step in this meticulous process reflects the precision and innovation that Blue Origin embodies, showcasing the engineering marvels that will propel humanity into the cosmos.

“Good aerospace hardware does look like art,” Bezos remarked, responding to Dodd’s admiration for the stunning end result.

Bezos also showcased the fabric material for the New Glenn rocket, noting how the fabric covering is the thermal insulation.

“We developed that ourselves, it’s highly reusable, and it’s been tested on New Shepherd. This vehicle comes in at Mach 6 and goes through some quite extreme heating environments,” He explained.

In fact, the company’s thermal protection does not need to be touched up at all after flights, so it’s designed for what Bezos called ‘operable reusability.’

He continued: “We have developed painstakingly a very capable reusable thermal protection system.”

In terms of the goals for the project, Bezos said the vehicle is designed to be “turned around in 16 days”, adding that although it’s designed for a minimum of 25 missions, “I’m hoping it will eventually be much more. We’d like to get to at least 100”.

US space agency NASA previously announced that Blue Origin will launch its ESCAPADE spacecraft to Mars in 2024 to study the planet’s magnetosphere. The mission is valued at $20 million and intends to use the New Glenn rocket, which has yet to make its first flight. Blue Origin has also not yet set a launch date or detailed the vehicle’s full mission schedule.

Anyway, Kudos to Tim for getting a tour with Bezos as his guide considering how closed-door this company has been.

[source:uniladtech]