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Jeff Bezos unveils a life-size mock-up of the lunar lander Blue Moon on May 9 in Washington. (credit: blue origin) |
by Jeff Foust
Monday, May 13, 2019
There must have been a lunar lander behind this curtain.
That was what most people thought on Thursday afternoon when they went to a ballroom at the Washington Convention Center for an event organized by Blue Origin. They were invited by the company to participate in an event "where we would keep you informed of our progress and share our vision", without giving you more details.
| "For all human history, the Earth has felt great for us," he said. "It's no longer true. The Earth is bigger. The humanity is great. " |
The company alluded to the announcement of a cryptic tweet: a picture of Stamina, Ernest Shackleton's ship, in the Antarctic ice, accompanied by a date: "5.9.19." Since Shackleton is also the name of a crater located at the South Pole of the Moon, which may harbor deposits of water ice, many have assumed that the update could include something on the Blue Moon lunar lander concept that the company announced two years ago, especially considering the desire of the Trump administration to speed up a human lunar landing.
The guests entering the ballroom were greeted by a blue light, starred landscapes on the walls and a scene in the middle of the ballroom, suspended by a large curtain. Much of the ballroom was behind this curtain, suggesting that there was something to show there at one point.
A wide range of space professionals and others attended the event. Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt was present, as well as Mark Sirangelo, who joined NASA last month as the administrator's special assistant in support of his new exploration campaign. There were representatives from space-related companies and organizations, representatives from DC offices from other national space agencies, and planetary scientists such as Lindy Elkins-Tanton and Steve Squyres. A group of schoolchildren, dressed in matching blue shirts, are tidy and seated on sofas near the front of the stage. Among the participants also featured the actor Cas Anvar, best known as one of the stars of the sci-fi series 'The Expanse', which had been rescued from the cancellation by Bezos the 39 last year; he later said that he had come because of his interest in finding ways to balance technology with humanity.
Shortly after 4 pm, the event started with a video on the landing of Apollo 11, and then Bezos took the stage. "If it does not inspire you, you are at the wrong event," he said about the video.
If Bezos were to unveil a lander, he would not do it right away. Instead, he spent more than 20 minutes describing his vision of humanity in space and using space to solve the problems of the Earth. He has already done so many times in the past, such as an interview on stage at the International Conference on Space Development, nearly a year ago (see "Bezos and I & R"). The future of humanity beyond the Earth, "The Space Review, June 4, 2018). . But he used this appearance to describe his views in more detail.
"For all human history, the Earth has felt great for us. And, in fact, in a really good sense, it was big. Humanity has been small, "he said. "It's no longer true. The Earth is bigger. The humanity is great. "
The Earth's resources are limited, he said. And, while addressing "immediate problems" such as poverty and the environment, "there are also long-term problems that we also need to tackle and that it takes a long time to solve them. ". An example of problems of this magnitude, he said, is access to energy: while terrestrial solar energy offers a solution to provide clean energy at growth rates Current energy consumption, the entire surface of the Earth should be covered with solar cells in a few hundred years. "It's not going to happen."
As he has explained in the past, this impending shortage of energy and other resources presents two choices. "What happens when unlimited demand meets finite resources? The answer is incredibly simple: rationing, "he said. "It would lead, for the first time, where your grandchildren and their grandchildren would have lives worse than you. It's a bad way.
As you can imagine, the alternative path involves space. "If we enter the solar system, for all intents and purposes, we have unlimited resources," he said. "So we have to choose: do we want stasis and rationing, or do we want dynamism and growth? This is an easy choice. We know what we want, we just have to deal with it. "
One of the illustrations of the space colonies that Bezos showed in his presentation. (credit: blue origin) |
From there, he evoked the concepts of space colonies adopted more than 40 years ago by the late Gerard K. O'Neill, renouncing the "global chauvinism" of trying to settle in regions like Mars to create its own habitats near the Earth. . This included showing new illustrations of these concepts, updated versions of the famous representations of the 1970s. "They are beautiful," he said. "People will want to live here."
| "These are beautiful," Bezos said of spatial colony illustrations. "People will want to live here." |
He acknowledged that these spatial locations are not a short-term perspective. "Who will do this work? Not me, he said. "The children in the first row, you will do it, and your children will do it. It will take a lot of time. It's a great vision. (Later in the speech, to promote this vision, he announced the creation of a new organization, the Club for the Future, whose website described describes: "Connect the young people who love our home planet, who believe in the power of human ingenuity and in the abundance of space, and who are unshakably optimistic for the future. ")
This vision, he said, requires enabling infrastructure, including vehicles capable of providing inexpensive access to space to enable the creation of new space industries. "My generation's job is to build the infrastructure," he said. "We will build a road to space, then incredible things will happen."
Blue Moon, update
This infrastructure includes launchers that his company is developing. He briefly discussed the New Shepard suborbital vehicle, which was performing its last test flight a week earlier, and the New Glenn orbital launcher under development. He did not talk much about that either, confirming that the company was planning to fly passengers to New Shepard by the end of the year.
"Woohoo!" Someone shouted into the audience after Bezos had talked about flying people in the vehicle.
These vehicles are only part of the infrastructure that he envisions. Another, he said, is the one that makes use of resources in space. "We received a gift: this close body called the Moon," he said.
The use of these resources, such as ice water, requires access to the moon. "The moon also needs infrastructure," he said. "Let me show you something."
With that, the curtain rose. And, of course, there was a lunar lander – or at least a life-size model of a lunar lander. It was Blue Moon; in particular, an updated version of the concept of LG which the company had begun to discuss more than two years ago.
| "I like that, it's the right thing to do," Bezos said about the lunar landing goal of 2024. "We can help keep that schedule, but only because we started three years ago. " |
This version of Blue Moon is capable of placing 3.6 tons of payload on the surface of the moon, while a "stretch tank" version with larger tanks could carry 6.5 tons to the surface. This payload would be placed on a bridge over the undercarriage and lowered to the surface using a davit, a so-called Bezos crane system inspired from that used on naval vessels.
The lander will use the terrain navigation to allow accurate landings, Bezos said, taking the audience on a tour around the model. An optical communication system will provide gigabit data rates on Earth, with a spare X-band radio.
The model was dominated by a large tank that would contain liquid hydrogen. This, along with a smaller tank for liquid oxygen, will contain the thrusters of the new LG engine, designated BE-7. This engine, producing a thrust of 10,000 pounds (44,000 newtons), is under development at Blue Origin, with a first tryout this summer.
The choice of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen was determined in part by lunar resources, Bezos said. "In the end, we will be able to get hydrogen from this water on the moon and be able to refuel these vehicles on the surface of the moon," he said. In addition to powering the BE-7, evaporation from the liquid hydrogen tank will serve to cool the liquid oxygen tank and will also go into a fuel cell producing fuel. ;electric energy. The LG uses fuel cells rather than solar panels, he noted, in order to be able to operate during the two-week lunar night.
A version of Blue Moon equipped with an ascension module capable of supporting human missions on the lunar surface. (credit: blue origin) |
The launch of the model, however, was devoid of other details about the LG, including the progression of its development. Bezos said Blue Origin had been working on the LG for three years, but did not just note that the BE-7 would soon be tested, but said nothing about it. another on the maturity of the design.
A company official, expressing himself in the background after the event, said Blue Moon's design had gone through several iterations. This includes the maturing requirements of the LG and the development of a draft.
Part of this work is supported by NASA. Last year, Blue Origin won two Tipping Point Technology Development Awards from NASA. According to the agency, "could potentially significantly benefit the economy of commercial space and future NASA missions." One of the prizes is to test the cryogenic fluid management technologies, and the other is for navigation relative to the field. Blue Origin plans to test both on its New Shepard suborbital vehicle next year.
NASA's accelerated lunar return schedule, however, changed some of the company's plans. The head of the company said Blue Origin had initially envisioned a very methodical approach to Blue Moon, demonstrating the capabilities of the freight lander, and then introducing the stretched version with more capacity. This stretched version, however, can be accelerated to accommodate an ascent stage that can transport the astronaut to the moon's surface and back.
| "What I'm presenting here today is obviously a multi-generational vision. This will not be accomplished by any generation. " |
Bezos hinted at a crewed climb stage in his presentation, and illustrations published by the company show the stretched version of Blue Moon, with a step up at the top, on the lunar surface with a couple of astronauts . The company has plans for an ascent phase, but did not give details on this.
Bezos however made it clear that he supported the new goal announced by Vice President Mike Pence in a March speech calling for a human lunar landing by 2024. "I adore that. It's the right thing to do, "he said. "We can help meet this timetable, but only because we started three years ago."
The company believes that Blue Moon could be ready for a first mission on the Moon, testing the descent phase only in 2023. This flight would be followed by a flight in 2024 of the stretched version with lander without astronauts, as a rehearsal general for a crewed mission. If this flight proceeds as planned, a crewed lunar landing mission could take place before the end of 2024.
This schedule, however, depends on NASA's plans and funding. The agency announced last month that it would issue a call for proposals, probably by the end of the month, for integrated systems of lunar landing gear, instead of separately procuring stages of ascent and descent and a transfer vehicle to move them into lunar orbit. Blue Origin, which submitted a proposal earlier this year for NASA studies on downhill stages, would likely participate in the new competition.
But if this lunar initiative misses previous efforts, or if Blue Origin does not win a NASA contest for a lunar lander, it is not clear what will happen with Blue Moon. Bezos's vision suggests that he will have to develop one, sooner or later, to provide the infrastructure he deems necessary to exploit the resources of the solar system, but given his long-term state of mind, may it be later than earlier.
"What I'm presenting here today is obviously a multi-generational vision. It will not be accomplished by any generation, "he said towards the end of the presentation. "If this generation builds the road, builds this infrastructure, we can see thousands of future entrepreneurs create a real space industry."
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