April 3, 2021

Blue Origin Continues to Make Launch Complex Progress for the Eventual Debut of New Glenn (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The debut of Blue Origin’s orbital launch vehicle, New Glenn, has been delayed until no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2022. In advance of pathfinder operations later this year, the company has continued to make progress at Launch Complex 36 and Launch Complex 11, two historic facilities which will support the New Glenn program. LC-36 was previously an Atlas launch site with two launch pads.

From mid-2007 to 2015, LC-36 was unused. One idea for the launch pad was to use LC-36 for the Athena III launch vehicle, a plan which never came to fruition. In March 2010, the Air Force transferred the site to Space Florida. In 2016, Blue Origin signed a long-term lease with Space Florida to use LC-36 for its New Glenn rocket. At the same time, Blue Origin also signed a lease to use LC-11 for testing of their BE-4 engine, which would power the New Glenn first stage.

Since acquiring LC-36, Blue Origin has done some significant work on LC-36 and the adjacent  LC-11. LC-11 is currently being used for BE-4 engine testing and has been merged with the LC-36 launch site. Currently, Blue Origin is finishing the launch site in preparation for the New Glenn Pathfinder first stage. A refurbish facility located right next to the ramp at LC-36 is also under construction. This will be used to enable New Glenn’s first stage to be inspected and prepared for reuse quickly between flights. (4/2)

Inspiration4 Astronaut Trainees Receive Training at NASTAR Center in Pennsylvania (Source: @johnkrausphotos)
The Inspiration4 astronauts underwent centrifuge training at the National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center in PA on Wednesday, rehearsing launch, reentry, splashdown, & abort profiles to simulate the various g-forces associated with launch later this year. (4/2)

NASA Selects 16 University Teams to Develop Deep Space Mission Concepts (Source: NASA)
Sixteen undergraduate and graduate team finalists will proceed to the next phase of NASA’s Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) program, with the clock now ticking toward June’s virtual 2021 RASC-AL Forum, where teams will showcase their completed work in a competitive design review directly to NASA and aerospace industry leaders.

Once selected, teams must further develop their proposals to effectively meet the mission: establish innovative concepts that will allow the expansion of human space exploration to include short-term stays and scientific operations at distant planetary bodies. Projects fall into one of five themes: Durable Low-Mass Lunar Surface Habitat, Minimum Mars Ascent Vehicle, Venus Flyby Mission, Human Mission to Ceres, and Distributed Lunar Sample Aggregation, Analysis, and Return to the International Space Station. Editor's Note: None of the projects are from Florida universities. (4/2)