Billionaire Bezos will invest as much as 600 million dollars to increase his production in the coming years in Florida, also betting on orbital data centers.
The aerospace company founded by Bezos, Blue Origin, will expand the Rocket Park campus in Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a 600 million dollar investment, strengthening its presence on the Space Coast and increasing production capacity for orbital launches, according to Governor Ron DeSantis, reports Bloomberg.
At Rocket Park, the company builds the New Glenn carrier rockets, each taller than a football field, which are then transported by truck about 14 kilometers southeast to Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Station, to be launched into orbit.
On May 22, Blue Origin completed the investigation into the failure that occurred during the third flight of its New Glenn rocket on April 19, thus authorizing the resumption of the rocket’s launches, as reported by Spacenews.
Meanwhile, while in Florida, Amazon founder Bezos spoke about the company’s plans for building data centers in space in a recent interview with Cnbc.
Bezos stated that bringing data centers into space is a “very realistic” goal, but it could take longer than expected, calling the two or three-year estimates given by rival Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, “a bit ambitious.”
The statements come ahead of SpaceX’s stock market debut, which has fueled Wall Street’s interest in the space sector.
All the details.
BLUE ORIGIN’S INVESTMENTS
Blue Origin plans a 600 million dollar expansion of its vast Rocket Park production complex in Merritt Island, which will create 500 aerospace jobs with average salaries above 98,000 dollars.
Named Project Horizon, this expansion will include a production facility of about 77,000 square meters aimed at increasing the production of the upper stages of the New Glenn rockets, capable of carrying heavy loads.
“Project Horizon represents the latest and most ambitious chapter of Blue Origin’s decade-long commitment in Florida,” said Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp.
NEW GLENN CLEARED FOR LAUNCH
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved Blue Origin’s report on the NG-3 mission of April 19 and authorized the New Glenn launch. The launcher had been grounded since the failed launch, putting the rocket’s busy launch schedule at risk.
The second stage incident led the FAA to block the rocket, ordering Blue Origin to conduct an investigation into the anomaly.
The company’s report identified the main cause of the recent malfunction as a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line, causing the thrust anomaly during the ignition of the second stage engine. The company added that corrective measures have been implemented to prevent a similar anomaly in future launches.
BEZOS’ AMBITIONS
Jeff Bezos’ space company may have big plans for its New Glenn rocket, notes Gizmodo. With the recent announced investment in Florida, Blue Origin aims to produce 60 upper stages for the New Glenn rocket by the third quarter of 2028.
Not only that, like rival Musk, the Amazon and Blue Origin founder is also targeting data centers in space. In the interview with Cnbc, Bezos called data centers in space a “very realistic” goal, while warning that the two or three-year timeline is “a bit ambitious.”
ORBITAL DATA CENTERS AND PROJECT SUNRISE
According to Bezos, to make this prospect possible, “the cost of launch must decrease drastically, by a factor of 10. That’s what we are working on here. That’s what Blue Origin is doing.”
In March, Blue Origin submitted a plan to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch 51,600 satellites for data centers in low Earth orbit, as part of the “Project Sunrise” initiative.
As highlighted by the Wall Street Journal, Bezos’ aerospace company thus joined Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the startup Starcloud, which have already applied to the FCC for authorization to launch satellites for artificial intelligence.
Blue Origin’s strategy also includes transferring industrial activities from Earth to the Moon, including building solar cells with lunar materials.
Bezos also recalled in the interview with Cnbc that Blue Origin is collaborating with NASA and the U.S. government to build a permanent base on the Moon and enhance U.S. defense capabilities to maintain space superiority. “I would caution those who think this is all science fiction to be careful in their judgment, because it is real, it is happening,” Bezos said.
