Bezos' space company designing large
lunar lander
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[October 09, 2018]
By Eric M. Johnson
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Jeff Bezos' space
company is in the conceptual design phase of a large lunar lander that
it says will provide reusable access to the moon's surface and its
resources, Blue Origin said on Wednesday. |
Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos addresses the media about the
New Shepard rocket booster and Crew Capsule mockup at the 33rd Space
Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., April 5, 2017.
REUTERS/Isaiah J. Downing/File Photo |
The
lander is part of Blue Origin's broader mission of enabling a
future in which millions of people live and work in space, the
company said.
"The next logical step in this path is a return to the Moon,"
Blue Origin said in a statement. "To do this we need reusable
access to the lunar surface and its resources."
The company, founded by Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Officer
Bezos, has said it aims to land on the moon in about five years.
The company offered no details on Wednesday about how it would
move from the design phase to moon missions in this time frame.
Blue Origin is also developing its New Shepard rocket for short
space tourism trips and a heavy-lift launch rocket called New
Glenn for satellite launch contracts.
Blue's launch vehicles face strong competition from several
other aerospace companies, including Elon Musk's SpaceX and
Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Jonathan
Oatis and Frances Kerry)
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