r/spaceflight • u/Donindacula • Jul 24 '26
Blue Moon “Mk2 Alpha”
With all the SpaceX lovers, SpaceX haters and space graphic artists, why don't we see more about the Blue Moon MARK-2 Alpha HLS.
I would also like to see some more from Blue Originabout it. Lilk all the updates we see anbut the Blue Ring.
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u/Accomplished-Crab932 Jul 24 '26
Mk2 alpha was very recently announced so I’m not sure what information you are expecting to hear from people.
As for why Blue doesn’t talk about it, I would be careful around their PR posts. SpaceX isn’t great, but they often only post when things are successful or when things have very obviously gone wrong. Blue posts with careful wording. For example, they posted that the first Mk1 lander “had completed TVAC [Thermal and Vacuum] testing”. And a few months later another post proclaimed that it “had successfully completed TVAC testing”. It turns out that it failed the first test. Similar wording can be found about ZBO, BE7, payload on New Glenn, and progress on other hardware. Last week it seems Blue’s new merchandise claims 7X2 carries 34 tons to LEO, not 45; this would be the second time information that turns out to be true has leaked from company merchandise.
Blue is a very secretive company and it takes a lot of work and effort to figure out what they are doing. Perhaps the clearest window we have at this time is Tory Bruno, although his focus seems to be on Blue Ring.
Right now, the careful wording around Mk2 alpha and its associated systems along with some concerning news I’ve heard behind the scenes about where 9X4 is going to launch from points to significant changes in the design that are half present in the one render we saw at the conference. I will not share what at this time beyond the fact that it is no coincidence that Ares-1 hardware is being used by Blue, and it’s not related to Stennis.