Blue Origin, the private aerospace manufacturer founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has long been grappling with a contentious debate about its New Glenn rocket. The question at the heart of this debate is whether to reuse or replace the upper stage of the rocket, known as GS2.
For years, Blue Origin's engineers have debated the merits of reusing GS2 versus manufacturing new stages for each launch. This internal debate has waxed and waned in recent times, with some suggesting that the company was making progress towards developing reusable upper stages before ultimately abandoning a key initiative called "Project Jarvis."
However, it appears that this debate may be gaining momentum once again. A new job posting, for a director of "Reusable Upper Stage Development," was recently published by Blue Origin, sparking speculation that the company is shifting its approach towards reusing GS2.
The challenge facing this new hire will be to develop cost-effective solutions for reusing upper stages. While SpaceX has found success in recovering and reusing parts of its Falcon 9 rocket, the task of developing a reusable upper stage remains an open question.
Blue Origin's plans to manufacture dozens of second stages per year may help reduce costs, but it is unlikely to eliminate them entirely. The company will need to strike a balance between reducing expenses and finding ways to make its upper stages more efficient and effective.
The stakes are high for Blue Origin, as the success or failure of its reusable upper stage program could have significant implications for its business model and future growth prospects. With the planned upgrade to New Glenn, a rocket that will use four BE-3U engines, the company is facing increasing pressure to find a solution to this complex problem.
The new director of upper stage development has their work cut out for them. As they navigate this challenging landscape, it remains to be seen whether Blue Origin's approach towards reusing GS2 will ultimately prove successful or not.
For years, Blue Origin's engineers have debated the merits of reusing GS2 versus manufacturing new stages for each launch. This internal debate has waxed and waned in recent times, with some suggesting that the company was making progress towards developing reusable upper stages before ultimately abandoning a key initiative called "Project Jarvis."
However, it appears that this debate may be gaining momentum once again. A new job posting, for a director of "Reusable Upper Stage Development," was recently published by Blue Origin, sparking speculation that the company is shifting its approach towards reusing GS2.
The challenge facing this new hire will be to develop cost-effective solutions for reusing upper stages. While SpaceX has found success in recovering and reusing parts of its Falcon 9 rocket, the task of developing a reusable upper stage remains an open question.
Blue Origin's plans to manufacture dozens of second stages per year may help reduce costs, but it is unlikely to eliminate them entirely. The company will need to strike a balance between reducing expenses and finding ways to make its upper stages more efficient and effective.
The stakes are high for Blue Origin, as the success or failure of its reusable upper stage program could have significant implications for its business model and future growth prospects. With the planned upgrade to New Glenn, a rocket that will use four BE-3U engines, the company is facing increasing pressure to find a solution to this complex problem.
The new director of upper stage development has their work cut out for them. As they navigate this challenging landscape, it remains to be seen whether Blue Origin's approach towards reusing GS2 will ultimately prove successful or not.
I think it's pretty interesting that Blue Origin is revisiting the idea of reusable upper stages. With SpaceX already making waves in terms of rocket recoveries, it'll be cool to see how they approach this problem from a different angle 
. Manufacturing dozens of second stages per year might seem like an expensive endeavor, but if it helps them find cost-effective solutions, that's a win-win for the company 
. The challenge is indeed finding that sweet spot between reducing expenses and making those upper stages more efficient. Wish Blue Origin the best in this pursuit – they've got some talented folks on their team 
!
, blue origin is just tryna innovate like every other space company 
. it's like, we all know spacex had its ups and downs too 
, but they still made it work 
. and let's be real, blue origin is just tryna keep up with the competition 
. so instead of bashing them online, lets just wait and see what happens 
. maybe they'll surprise us all and make reusable upper stages a thing 
!
. SpaceX has done it once, why can't Blue Origin? 
. still, I think blue origin has an awesome team with some serious expertise in aerospace engineering 
. fingers crossed that they can pull off this ambitious program and take a big step forward for private spaceflight 
!
I remember when Blue Origin was all about Project Jarvis 
I'm hyped to see where this new direction takes them. But let's be real, reusing upper stages is hard 
, like, way harder than SpaceX made it look 
. One thing's for sure, though - if anyone can pull this off, it's Blue Origin 
i think its kinda cool that they're trying to figure this out tho SpaceX has been doing it for ages and we dont see them complaining about costs all the time 
- you gotta redesign the whole thing to be reusable. It's like trying to solve a really hard jigsaw puzzle 
. And let's be real, if they can make it work, that'd be a huge win for space tourism and all that 
. Still gotta see how this plays out 
I mean, it's cool that they wanna reduce costs, but at what cost? they're a multi-billion dollar company, can't they afford to just build new stages every time? it feels like they're trying to reinvent the wheel here 
. But if they fail, it could impact their business model and growth prospects big time 
. I'm keeping an eye on this development - will Blue Origin's reusable upper stage program take off (pun intended) or will it crash and burn? 
The job posting just dropped and I'm like, yeah they're trying to pivot 
But honestly, it's not as simple as just making a bunch of GS2s and calling it a day 
And let's be real, SpaceX has set the bar pretty high with their Falcon 9 recoveries 
This is gonna be wild to watch 
I mean, I get that Blue Origin wants to save some cash, but manufacturing dozens of second stages per year just because it's reusable is gonna be super costly in the long run 
.
. So why can't Blue Origin figure it out too? I mean, I'm sure the new director of upper stage development is a genius or something (sarcasm alert 
. i think the cost savings from manufacturing dozens of second stages per year is a great start, but they gotta dig deeper than that 
. the stakes are high, indeed... Blue Origin's got some serious skin in this game 
I can imagine how frustrating and uncertain that must feel for the engineers working at Blue Origin right now... trying to figure out if reusing GS2 is even possible. It's like being stuck in a loop, you know?