14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, December 8, a top NASA official visited the Kent, Washington-based space company Blue Origin, which the space agency supports as part of its Commercial Crew Development Program. NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver toured the facilities, and was informed of the progress made thus far.
Blue Origin is developing a space capsule, an astronaut escape system and a reusable rocket for cheap access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station. One of the components on their new rocket, the BE-3 engine thrust chamber assembly, has already been delivered for tests.
Test firings will be conducted at the NASA Stennis Space Center, in Mississippi, starting in April 2012. All maneuvers involving these engines will be carried out at the E-1 Test Stand. The SSC has been involved in testing rocket motors since the dawn of the Space Age.
“Like all of our commercial partners, they're making real progress and opening up a new job-creating segment of the economy that will allow NASA to focus on our next big challenges,” Garver said.