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Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket to Challenge SpaceX with Inaugural Launch

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Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, is preparing for the debut launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday, marking a significant step toward competing with SpaceX’s dominance in spaceflight. The New Glenn, a towering 30-story rocket, represents Blue Origin’s decade-long, multibillion-dollar investment into the burgeoning satellite constellation market, aiming to challenge SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which has been the backbone of many satellite missions.

New Glenn’s success would set the stage for Amazon’s Kuiper broadband internet satellite constellation, positioning it as a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink network. For Blue Origin, this is a pivotal moment, as the company has yet to send anything into orbit since its founding 25 years ago. Although it has successfully launched and landed the smaller New Shepard rocket, this launch marks its first attempt at Earth orbit.

Scheduled for 1 a.m. ET (0600 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, New Glenn will carry its first payload—a Blue Ring satellite designed for satellite servicing and national security. The rocket is more powerful than the Falcon 9, with a larger payload capacity, although it still lags behind SpaceX’s Starship, which is under development for larger and more ambitious missions.

Blue Origin has secured several satellite contracts, including with Eutelsat’s OneWeb, Telesat, and AST SpaceMobile, positioning New Glenn in a strong market for satellite constellations. The rocket’s reusable core stage will also make its first landing attempt on a drone ship, mimicking SpaceX’s reusability success.

Despite delays and leadership changes over the years, Blue Origin is now fully focused on New Glenn’s success, with CEO Dave Limp pushing for a fast-paced launch schedule. The launch is critical not only for competition but also as a certification flight for the U.S. Space Force, which could lead to lucrative national security payload contracts in the coming year.

 

India’s Push for Home-Grown Satellite Constellation Attracts 30 Aspirants

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India’s initiative to develop home-grown Earth observation (EO) satellite constellations has received a strong response, with 30 companies applying for a role in the project. This effort, managed by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), is part of India’s strategy to reduce its dependence on foreign satellite data for critical sectors like defense, infrastructure management, and mapping.

Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, announced that nine applications had been received, each representing a consortium of companies. These applicants include a mix of startups, such as Google-backed Pixxel and Baring Private Equity-backed SatSure, as well as larger entities like Tata Group’s Tata Advanced Systems. The project aims to establish satellite constellations that provide crucial data for various industries, including telecoms and climate monitoring. The satellite data market is expected to reach $45 billion by 2030, making it a significant global opportunity.

IN-SPACe issued a call for “expressions of interest” (EoI) in July to develop these homegrown satellite constellations. The initiative is part of India’s broader strategy to commercialize its space sector and ensure data sovereignty. The space regulator set eligibility criteria for the applicants, requiring them to invest at least 850 million rupees ($10 million) in space activities, have a company valuation of 8.5 billion rupees, or a turnover of 2 billion rupees in the last three years. Applicants must also establish spacecraft control centers in India or partner with ground station providers.

The evaluation of technical proposals is expected to be completed by the end of January, with a tender to determine the winning bidder to follow shortly thereafter. The government plans to provide a loan of up to 3.5 billion rupees to the winning company, with private entities expected to cover the rest of the costs. Additionally, India has set up a 10-billion-rupee venture fund to support space startups since the sector was opened to private players in February.

Although India currently relies on foreign EO data from entities like the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the country is now focused on expanding its space capabilities and reducing its dependence on external sources.