Robert Meyerson, Blue Origin President announced a deal with mu Space Corporation at the 68th International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia.The deal with the Thailand-based satellite provider confirms a third commercial customer for the company’s New Glenn rocket currently under development.
“We have entered into an agreement with mu Space on a future launch of a geostationary satellite aboard New Glenn early in the next decade,” said Meyerson. “We look forward to launching mu Space to serve the people of Thailand and the Asia-Pacific region.”
The Thailand-based satellite provider was founded early this year to meet growing demand for mobile communications in the country. The exact nature of the upcoming launch aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is not yet known but will presumably be a communications satellite.
In a statement, chief executive of mu Space detailed their confidence in Blue Origin stating, “We’ve decided to go with Blue Origin because we’re impressed with the company’s vision and engineering approach,” He continued, “We want to deliver equitable access to communication services for all and improve quality of life on Earth.”
The addition of mu Space to the New Glenn launch schedule adds to the company’s two current customers for the new rocket. In March, Eutelsat became the rocket’s first customer. The company plans to launch a geostationary satellite aboard the rocket with an exact launch date not yet known. OneWeb is the third New Glenn customer and has confirmed a schedule of no fewer than 5 launches to supplement their Earth orbit broadband constellation.
The New Glenn launch vehicle will offer Blue Origin a reusable first stage much in the same vein as SpaceX’s Falcon 9. The design will allow the company to reduce launch costs, reductions that should hopefully translate into more affordable launches for new customers.
Image Credit: Blue Origin
