Corn Ranch
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| Location | Van Horn, Texas,United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Established | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Blue Origin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Corn Ranch,commonly referred to asLaunch Site One (LSO),is aspaceportowned and operated byBlue Originwhich is located approximately 30 miles north of the town ofVan Horn, Texas, United States.
The 670-square-kilometer (165,000-acre) land was purchased byJeff Bezosin 2004.
The company uses the spaceport for testing andlaunch servicesfor itsNew Shepardrocket. The launch site has a sub-orbital launch pad and also has a number ofrocket engine test stands.The engine test cells are at the site to support thehydrolox,methaloxandstorablepropellant engines that are used. There are three test cells for testing the methalox BE-4 engine, two of which support full-thrust and full-duration burns, and one that supports short-duration, high-pressurepreburnertests. The spaceport also includes a vehicle processing facility and an astronaut training facility.[1][2]
The companies first human spaceflight launched from Launch Site One (LS1) on July 20, 2021. The flight, dubbedNS-16,carried its founderJeff Bezos,his brotherMark Bezos,test pilot andMercury 13memberWally Funk,and DutchmanOliver Daemenon a suborbital flight aboard New Shepard 4.[3]
FAA Launch License Information[edit]
Currentlaunch licenseand experimental permits from the US governmentFederal Aviation Administrationauthorize flights ofNew Shepardrockets.[4]the site became active on November 13, 2006 with the goal of providingcommercial tourist flightsto space.[5]
Location[edit]
The launch pad is located at31°25′23″N104°45′26″W/ 31.422927°N 104.757152°W,about 2.9 km (1.8 mi) north of the check-out building. The landing pad is located at31°27′06″N104°45′46″W/ 31.4517°N 104.7628°W,about 6.1 km (3.8 mi) north of a check-out building and 3.2 km (2 mi) north of the launch pad.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ab"Final Environmental Assessment for the Blue Origin West Texas Commercial Launch Site"(pdf).faa.gov.August 2006.Retrieved2022-03-25.
- ^"Fly to Space".Blue Origin.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-05-14.Retrieved2024-05-20.
- ^Roulette, Joey (2021-07-20)."Blue Origin successfully sends Jeff Bezos and three others to space and back".The Verge.Retrieved2022-03-26.
- ^Final Supplemental Environmental Assessment for the Blue Origin West Texas Launch Site(Report). Federal Aviation Administration. February 2014.Retrieved3 May2015.
- ^"Space Dreams Boost Tiny Town".MSNBC.
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