Kent’s Blue Origin shooting for the moon

Kent-based Blue Origin’s aerospace business continues to boom as Germany-based OHB Group signed a letter of intent to partner on a Blue Origin moon mission.

The document was signed by Dr. Lutz Bertling and Kurt Melching, members of the Management Board of OHB SE, Hans J. Steininger, CEO of MT Aerospace, of Germany, and Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin, during a bilateral meeting Oct. 2 at the International Space Congress IAC in Bremen, Germany, according to a OHB press release.

The companies have partnered on a future Blue Moon mission to the lunar surface – Blue Origin’s lunar lander capable of bringing several metric tons of cargo to the moon. The companies will collaborate on a payload on board Blue Origin’s reusable orbital rocket New Glenn. The use of these systems and possible cooperation will be the subject of in-depth discussions in the transatlantic dialogue.

“We are delighted to have gained Blue Origin as a dialogue partner who has established itself over the past few years as one of the leading companies in the aerospace industry,” Bertling said. “We are convinced that the mixture of the respective competencies will quickly lead to concrete approaches for further cooperation.”

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also owns Blue Origin. Bezos just this week passed Bill Gates as the richest person in America, according to Forbes, with a fortune estimated at $160 billion.

The Blue Origin media team sent an email with the following statement:

“Moving heavy industry from Earth into space is at the core of Blue Origin’s mission. The future will be better for our children – and our children’s children – if we use space to benefit life on Earth and enable millions of people to live and work in space.

The next logical step in this path is a return to the moon. To do this we need reusable access to the lunar surface and its resources. We’re in the conceptual design phase of a large lunar lander that will provide that access called Blue Moon.

We are not alone in our drive to return to the moon, and there have been some exciting updates this week at the 69th Annual International Astronautical Congress in Bremen, Germany.

Blue has joined leading space companies and agencies to support the creation of The Moon Race, a non-profit working to launch a competition for teams looking for a ride to the lunar surface. The goal is consistent with our aim to land large payloads on the moon that can access and utilize the resources found there. We’re supporting this initiative, along with ESA, Airbus and other entities seeking to foster the next generation of lunar exploration – with Blue Moon and New Glenn.”