WASHINGTON: Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin said on Thursday it will build a bigger, more powerful variant of its New Glenn rocket, drawing early plans for a family of orbital satellite launchers akin to the fleet of Falcon rockets from Elon Musk’s dominant SpaceX.
The new rocket, announced after New Glenn’s second mission launched last week, will be called New Glenn 9x4, a name referencing nine engines that will power its first stage and four engines on its second stage. That is an increase of two engines for each stage from New Glenn’s current design.
“The next chapter in New Glenn’s roadmap is a new super-heavy class rocket,” Blue Origin said in a statement outlining other rocket upgrades.
Blue Origin did not say when it expects to fly the larger rocket variant. “We aren’t disclosing a specific timeframe today. The iterative design from our current 7x2 vehicle means we can build this rocket quickly,” a spokesman said in response to timeline questions.
The two New Glenn variants, the company said, “will serve the market concurrently, giving customers more launch options for their missions, including mega-constellations, lunar and deep space exploration, and national security imperatives such as Golden Dome.”
US launch companies such as Rocket Lab, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, which Boeing and Lockheed Martin own, are either building or have early plans for larger rockets that can put bigger batches of satellite constellations into space.
Blue Origin spent billions of dollars and roughly a decade developing New Glenn, a 29-story rocket with a reusable first stage meant to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon fleet and more powerful Starship, a fully reusable rocket that remains in development.
Dave Limp, Blue Origin’s CEO, posted on X digital renderings of the super-heavy New Glenn standing taller than Saturn V, the 17-story rocket that sent humans to the moon under the US Apollo program. The 9x4 rocket has a larger payload fairing and appears far taller than the original New Glenn design.
Blue Origin unveils plan for bigger New Glenn rocket variant to take on SpaceX
https://arab.news/ns9fz
Blue Origin unveils plan for bigger New Glenn rocket variant to take on SpaceX
Who will triumph at the BAFTAs? ‘Hamnet’ has the home advantage
- ’Hamnet’ favored for BAFTA best film award
- ’One Battle After Another’ will pose strong challenge
LONDON:“Hamnet” could edge ahead of “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” to win the top prize at the BAFTAs, as the heartbreaker about Shakespeare, his wife Agnes and the death of their son is likely to win over British voters, experts said.
Action-packed dark comedy “One Battle After Another,” directed by US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, leads the field with 14 nominations ahead of Sunday’s ceremony, followed by vampire thriller “Sinners,” which has received the most nods for next month’s Oscars.
But “Hamnet,” directed by previous Oscar winner Chloe Zhao and based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, is the bookmakers’ favorite to take the best film award at the BAFTAs.
“I think it’s going to be about ‘Hamnet’,” said Tim Richards, founder and chief executive of Vue cinema group.
“’One Battle After Another’ is another extraordinary film, but ‘Hamnet’ ... just feels like the kind of movie that BAFTA will go for.”
The 79th British Academy Film Awards will be held in London on Sunday evening, hosted by Scottish actor, TV presenter and director Alan Cumming.
CHLOE ZHAO VERSUS PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
Ian Sandwell, movies editor at Digital Spy, said BAFTA loved to recognize its own.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised to see (’Hamnet’) walk away with best film and maybe even Chloe Zhao challenging Paul Thomas Anderson in director as well, and then the acting awards,” he said.
Richards said if “Hamnet” wins best film, Anderson could receive best director, or vice versa, as BAFTA divides the top awards between “two extraordinary films.”
For leading actress, Jessie Buckley is a shoo-in for her performance as Shakespeare’s wife, according to bookmakers.
Leading actor is harder to call, with Timothee Chalamet vying with Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael B. Jordan for their respective performances in “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.”
Sandwell said Chalamet had been picking up awards, including a Golden Globe, in the run-up to the BAFTAs for the table-tennis movie “Marty Supreme.” “It would be his first (BAFTA), so it probably will happen,” he said.
But Sandwell said he would love to see Robert Aramayo walk away with the prize for his acclaimed performance as Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson in “I Swear.”
“Sometimes BAFTAs throw out a surprise in these leading actor categories to give it to a local lad, and it would be absolutely brilliant to see him win on the night,” he said.
In the supporting acting categories, the race is open but bookmakers currently favor Stellan Skarsgard and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas from Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value.”
One notable movie — “KPop Demon Hunters” — is not nominated because it did not have a theatrical release in Britain before it was available to stream on Netflix.
But the singing stars of the animated feature will perform their global hit “Golden” at the awards.
