Blue Origin is an aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos. It recently announced its new and upcoming Swiss army knife-style spacecraft platform called Blue Ring. There has been little public discussion by Blue Origin regarding this project. In January of 2023, a story broke when Blue Origin briefly announced a job posting for Blue Ring Senior Program Manager on its Careers page. However, this job posting was pulled less than twenty-four hours later.
Even though the job posting was only a brief glimpse of the project, it did convey how the goal of the Blue Ring will be to provide a multitude of services. These include logistics, refueling, and transportation. It is slated to be a part of a new Blue Origin business unit called In-Space Systems.
It is estimated that Blue Ring could carry payloads of more than six hundred and sixty pounds. It will be capable of being flexible for both delta-V and mission priorities. This indicated that Blue Ring holds the potential to operate anywhere from medium Earth orbit, cislunar space (the region between Earth’s geosynchronic stationary orbit and the Moon’s orbit), and beyond.
Paul Ebertz is the Senior Vice President of Blue Origin’s In-Space Systems. He said, “Blue Ring addresses two of the most difficult challenges in spaceflight today: growing space infrastructure and increasing mobility on-orbit. We're offering our customers the ability to easily access and maneuver through a variety of orbits cost-effectively while having access to critical data to ensure a successful mission.”
Blue Origin also suggested that Blue Ring’s size would allow it to be flown on current rockets. These include Vulcan, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and New Glenn which is Blue Origin’s new rocket. The expected lifespan for Blue Ring is also estimated to be about five years. The first launch is expected to take place in 2025. The dimensions of Blue Ring were not disclosed. However, the solar panels are estimated to have a total span of one hundred and forty-four feet.
Lars Hoffman is the Vice President of Government Sales at Blue Origin. He said in a recent interview that “Currently, the commercial marketplace is still very much sending payloads and satellites to predictable orbits. Some of the new markets are looking to be more dynamic. That's one of the things Blue Ring is really attuned to—it can do a lot of different things.”
Given the project’s objective, Blue Ring is classified as a type of space tug. This is a spacecraft specifically designed to move space-based cargo from one orbit to another which is appropriate because of its multi-orbit and delta-V capabilities. Several space agencies and companies are currently developing concepts for space tugs. These include NASA, Firefly Aerospace, Atomos Space, and Orbit Fab.
The announcement of Blue Ring comes at a time when Blue Origin is ramping up for the launch of the New Glenn rocket. It’s maiden launch is scheduled for 2024. New Glenn will be one of the largest rockets ever built at three hundred and twenty feet tall. New Glenn is also planned to be reusable. Blue Origin states its first stage will be designed to launch for a minimum of twenty-five flights.