Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space venture, is working on a project called Blue Ring, which is an orbital platform designed to provide logistical services in space. The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit is sponsoring a mission called DarkSky-1 to test the technology behind Blue Ring. This mission will demonstrate the flight system’s space-based data processing and storage capabilities, ground-based radiometric tracking, and telemetry, tracking, and command hardware.
The lessons learned from the DarkSky-1 mission will help improve Blue Ring’s ability to provide access to multiple orbits and bring us closer to the vision of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. Blue Origin expects the DarkSky-1 system to be launched as a payload on a future national-security space launch through the U.S. Space Force. The specific launch provider and timeframe have not been disclosed yet, but a license application filed with the FCC indicates that the launch is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The payload for the DarkSky-1 mission will remain attached to the launch vehicle’s upper stage and follow an elliptical orbit ranging between 2,500 and 21,000 kilometers in altitude. The mission duration is expected to be no more than 12 hours. While Blue Origin did not provide the mission’s cost, contract filings show that the Defense Department has awarded the company $4.9 million for the development of multi-orbit logistics vehicles.
Blue Origin’s senior vice president of the In-Space Systems business unit, Paul Ebertz, mentioned that the lessons learned from the DarkSky-1 mission will contribute to enhancing Blue Ring’s capabilities. The goal is to provide greater access to multiple orbits, ultimately enabling millions of people to live and work in space for the benefit of Earth. The technology being tested during this mission includes space-based data processing, storage capabilities, ground-based radiometric tracking, and telemetry, tracking, and command hardware.
The Blue Ring orbital platform is a multi-mission vehicle being developed by Blue Origin to support logistics services in orbit. The upcoming DarkSky-1 mission will validate the flight system’s capabilities and test various components of the Blue Ring platform, including its telemetry, tracking, and command hardware. The mission is sponsored by the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit and is expected to pave the way for future advancements in space logistics technology.
In conclusion, the DarkSky-1 mission represents a significant step forward in the development of Blue Origin’s Blue Ring orbital platform. The mission will test various aspects of the platform’s technology, including space-based data processing and storage capabilities, ground-based tracking systems, and hardware necessary for orbital operations. With the support of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, Blue Origin aims to bring us closer to a future where millions of people can live and work in space for the benefit of Earth.
