posted 10-22-2019 08:14 AM               

Blue Origin Announces National Team for NASA's Human Landing System Artemis

Today, Blue Origin is proud to announce a national team to offer a Human Landing System for NASA's Artemis program to return Americans to the lunar surface by 2024.

Blue Origin has signed teaming agreements with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper. These partners have decades of experience supporting NASA with human space flight systems, launch vehicles, orbital logistics, deep-space missions, interplanetary navigation and planetary landings.

Our combined experience is uniquely positioned to meet NASA's needs for the Artemis program. Each partner will bring their industry leading solutions to the following roles:

• Blue Origin, as prime contractor, leads program management, systems engineering, safety and mission assurance, and mission engineering while providing the Descent Element that is based on the multi-year development of the Blue Moon lunar lander and its BE-7 engine.

• Lockheed Martin develops the reusable Ascent Element vehicle and leads crewed flight operations and training.

• Northrop Grumman provides the Transfer Element vehicle that brings the landing system down towards the Moon.

• Draper leads descent guidance and provides flight avionics.

"National challenges call for a national response. We are humbled and inspired to lead this deeply committed team that will land NASA astronauts on the Moon," said Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin. "Combining our partners' heritage with our advance work on the Blue Moon lunar lander and its BE-7 engine, our team is looking forward to working with NASA in support of the Artemis program."

"Lockheed Martin has been honored to help NASA explore space for more than 50 years, providing deep space robotic missions, planetary landers, space shuttle heritage and the Orion exploration spacecraft," said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space. "We value Blue Origin's thoughtful approach to developing human-rated flight systems, and are thrilled to be part of a national team with this mix of innovation and experience. We look forward to safely and sustainably returning our nation to the surface of the Moon by 2024."

"Northrop Grumman's commitment to put Americans back on the moon dates back over 50 years ago with the delivery of the first lunar lander for the historic Apollo Program," said Blake Larson, corporate vice president and president of Innovation Systems, Northrop Grumman. "Along with our ongoing work on the Space Launch System boosters, astronaut escape system, and the Gateway habitat, we are proud to be a part of the Blue Origin national team to support NASA's Artemis program and the ambitious goal to return to the moon by 2024."

"When the nation needs precision guidance, it calls on Draper," said Kaigham J. Gabriel, President and CEO, Draper. "We guided Apollo to the moon and back nearly 50 years ago. We're ready to do it again with the Blue Origin team for Artemis."

It's time to go back to the Moon, this time to stay.

posted 10-22-2019 09:04 AM               

Our Ascent Element for the Blue Origin National Team leverages our Orion knowledge and experience, from crewed systems to mission operations.

posted 04-30-2020 04:17 PM               

NASA Selects Blue Origin National Team to Return Humans to the Moon

Today the Blue Origin National Team, which includes Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper, was selected by NASA to begin to develop the Artemis Human Landing System.

"NASA's Artemis program will be the next major milestone in the history of human space flight, and we're honored to be a part of it," said Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin. "Our National Team brings unparalleled heritage, passion and innovation that will enable Americans to return to the lunar surface and inspire another generation. It's time to go back to the Moon, this time to stay."

Using existing and in development technologies provides the head start needed to meet NASA's goal of landing at the South Pole of the Moon. Lockheed Martin's Ascent Element is based on Orion; Northrop Grumman's Transfer Element is based on Cygnus; and Blue Origin's Descent Element is based on the Blue Moon lander and BE-7 engine, which has been in development for several years.

"Lockheed Martin is honored to be partnered with Blue Origin and this National Team as we begin a moment in history that the world will point to for generations," said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space. "The Artemis astronauts will descend to the surface and ascend off the surface inside an advanced crewed ascent element. The best way to accomplish this safely and quickly is to leverage NASA's investment in Orion, an existing human-rated deep space spaceship, which maximizes common training and operations."

"Putting humans back on the lunar surface is an inspiring goal for our nation," said Blake Larson, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Space Systems. "We are proud to support this team and NASA with our decades of experience, comprehensive capabilities, and our proven space systems, as we return to the Moon."

"Draper's extensive portfolio and heritage in human exploration avionics is reinforced by current work on Lockheed Martin's Orion, NASA's SLS, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus and Blue Origin's engine, New Glenn and Blue Moon programs," said Seamus Tuohy, Principal Director of Space Systems, Draper. "We are prepared for this united team to return humans to the Moon, just as Draper did with Apollo."

Each National Team partner brings industry-leading solutions:

• Blue Origin, as prime contractor, leads program management, systems engineering, safety and mission assurance, and mission engineering and operations; and develops the Descent Element.

• Lockheed Martin develops the reusable Ascent Element vehicle and leads crewed flight operations and training.

• Northrop Grumman develops the Transfer Element vehicle that delivers the landing system into low lunar orbit for final descent.

• Draper leads descent guidance and provides flight avionics.

The National Team looks forward to embarking on the next steps with NASA and continuing progress to return to the Moon – this time to stay.

posted 08-20-2020 11:07 AM               

Blue Origin-Led National Team Delivers Lunar Lander Engineering Mockup to NASA

Today, the Blue Origin-led Human Landing System (HLS) National Team – comprised of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper – delivered an engineering mockup of a crew lander vehicle that could take American astronauts to the Moon. The lander is set up in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (SVMF), NASA Johnson Space Center's (JSC) iconic Building 9. 

The full-scale engineering mockup showcases two elements of the National Team's multi-element architecture – the Ascent Element (AE) and Descent Element (DE). Standing at more than 40 feet, it is the Blue Origin National Team's update to Apollo's Lunar Module (LM) and will be used to validate the National Team's approaches for getting crew, equipment, supplies, and samples off and on the vehicle. The team will collaborate with NASA organizations including JSC's Astronaut Office to  perform  engineering and crew operations tests  with astronauts aiming to fly the final system within several years. 

"Testing this engineering mockup for crew interaction is  a step toward making this historic mission real," said Brent Sherwood, vice president of Advanced Development Programs, Blue Origin. "The learning we get from full-scale mockups can't be done any other way. Benefitting from NASA's expertise and feedback at this early stage allows us to develop a safe commercial system that meets the agency's needs." 

The National Team HLS design leverages significant prior work, flight heritage, and a modular solution. Modular solutions help to enable faster progress due to the independent development and testing of each element, which permits ongoing improvements and evolution without impacting the full system. This also provides flexibility in the use of different launch vehicles and different concepts of operations.

The Descent Element is based on Blue Origin's Blue Moon cargo lander and BE-7 LOX/hydrogen engine, both in development for more than three years. The Ascent Element incorporates avionics, software, life support hardware, crew interfaces, and mission operations from Lockheed Martin's human-rated, deep-space Orion vehicle that will fly on the Artemis I and II missions. A consistent cockpit experience and training from Orion to the AE makes the end-to-end mission safer for Artemis. The Transfer Element, a propulsive stage that starts the lander on its descent trajectory from lunar orbit, is based on Northrop Grumman's Cygnus vehicle that provides logistics resupply to the International Space Station; and Draper provides descent guidance and avionics to the National Team.

"Each partner brings its own outstanding legacy to the National Team. These include developing, integrating, and operating human-rated spacecraft, launch systems and planetary landers. Together we form an excellent team to send our next astronauts to the Moon in 2024," said Kirk Shireman, vice president of Lunar Campaigns at Lockheed Martin Space. "Augmenting state of the art tools with physically being able to see, interact, and evaluate a full-up lander in person is critical. It will inform our design and requirements earlier in the program allowing us to accelerate our development and meet the 2024 lunar landing goal."

The mockup will remain at JSC through early 2021 for a series of tests and simulations. Over the coming months, the National Team will continue to build and increase mockup fidelity. NASA's Human Landing System Program is managed at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

posted 09-14-2020 10:45 AM               

National Team Completes System Requirements Review to Define its Integrated Human Landing System Design

The Human Landing System (HLS) National Team, led by Blue Origin with partners Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper, has completed its System Requirements Review (SRR). SRR is the first program "gated milestone," which marks the successful baselining of the requirements for the mission, space vehicles, and ground segment. The design proceeded to the NASA Certification Baseline Review (CBR), followed by the lower-level element SRRs, and the preliminary design phase.

The National Team also closed with NASA on the 37 NASA design and construction standards. The Blue Origin-led team had an aggregate total of 62 design and construction standards spread across the three partners that comprised the integrated lander, aiding in the rapid progress expected by NASA's Human Landing System program. In addition, hundreds of health and human performance standards and requirements were agreed upon and closed.

The SRR followed Blue Origin program development processes and was attended by the Blue Moon Science Advisory Board. The standing review board also comprised senior leaders from all four National Team partners, plus independent experts, and NASA. Robert Lightfoot, vice president of Strategy and Business Development at Lockheed Martin, chaired the review. Lightfoot is also a former acting NASA Administrator and Director of Marshall Space Flight Center.

"Completion of this review allows the National Team to move forward in its design, much of which is evolving directly from existing systems such as Orion, and that maturity was exhibited in the review," said Lightfoot. "The National Team has been working together seamlessly in its journey to return Americans to the Moon and the magnitude of the mission is on our minds daily."

"Opening the Moon for exploration and business is one step closer after completion of the SRR," said Brent Sherwood, vice president of Advanced Development Programs at Blue Origin. "Achieving major milestones is the surest way to measure progress toward our first landing."

"A complex undertaking like human lunar landings requires paying attention to thousands of details, and thinking through every likely contingency," said former U.S. Senator Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 Lunar Module Pilot and lunar scientist, and a member of the Blue Moon Science Advisory Board. "I was very impressed at the depth of engineering and operational sophistication shown in the Systems Requirements Review. The National Team is working to directly apply the lessons from the Apollo experience to make America's next crewed lunar landing successful and the precursor to sustained human activity on the Moon."

posted 12-09-2020 08:38 AM               

National Team Submits Moon Proposal to NASA

The National Team submitted its Option A proposal this week to land the first woman and next man on the Moon in partnership with NASA. Blue Origin leads the Human Landing System (HLS) National Team, which includes Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper. Together, these partners guided Apollo, established routine orbit cargo transfer, developed today's only crewed lunar spaceship, and pioneered planetary precision landing with liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen vehicles. The proposed solution uses flight heritage and modularity to manage risk, move fast, and attain sustainable operations on the Moon.

During the base period alone, the National Team is completing 25 technical demonstrations, making key progress toward NASA's mission. Watch this video to learn more about the technical demonstrations and the approach to get America back to the Moon to stay.

posted 05-19-2023 10:17 AM               

NASA Selects Blue Origin for Astronaut Mission to the Moon

NASA has awarded a NextSTEP-2 Appendix P Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) contract to Blue Origin. Blue Origin's National Team partners include Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics.

Under this contract, Blue Origin and its National Team partners will develop and fly both a lunar lander that can make a precision landing anywhere on the Moon's surface and a cislunar transporter. These vehicles are powered by LOX-LH2 [liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen]. The high-specific impulse of LOX-LH2 provides a dramatic advantage for high-energy deep space missions. Nevertheless, lower performing but more easily storable propellants (such as hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide as used on the Apollo lunar landers) have been favored for these missions because of the problematic boil-off of LOX-LH2 during their long mission timelines. Through this contract, we will move the state of the art forward by making high-performance LOX-LH2 a storable propellant combination.

Under SLD, we will develop and fly solar-powered 20-degree Kelvin cryocoolers and the other technologies required to prevent LOX-LH2 boil-off. Future missions beyond the Moon, and enabling capabilities such as high-performance nuclear thermal propulsion, will benefit greatly from storable LH2. Blue Origin's architecture also prepares for that future day when lunar ice can be used to manufacture LOX and LH2 propellants on the Moon.

Blue Origin and its partners are already at work and are excited to be on this journey with NASA.

posted 05-19-2023 01:15 PM               

NASA picks Blue Origin's Blue Moon as second Artemis lunar lander

"Once in a Blue Moon..." astronauts will land on the lunar surface in 2029 and beyond.

NASA on Friday (May 19) announced the selection of Blue Moon, Blue Origin's human landing system (HLS), for the agency's Artemis V mission. The lunar lander will support two astronauts for about a weeklong stay at the moon's south pole region.

posted 10-27-2023 10:16 AM               

Blue Moon Mark 1

Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) is a single-launch, lunar cargo lander that remains on the surface and provides safe, reliable, and affordable access to the lunar environment. MK1 will provide cargo transport, leveraging the 7-meter fairing of the New Glenn launch vehicle, to deliver up to three metric tons anywhere on the lunar surface.

Pathfinder Mission

The Pathfinder Mission (MK1-SN001) will be a demonstration mission, with MK1-SN002 and beyond available to payload customers. MK1-SN001 proves out critical systems, including the BE-7 engine, cryogenic fluid power and propulsions systems, avionics, continuous downlink communications, and precision landing within 100 m site accuracy, prior to the uncrewed NASA Human Landing System mission for the Artemis program.