Comment by DriftRegion
3 months ago
Anyone know more about the payload? Here's what I've found: It's carrying the "Blue Ring Pathfinder Payload", part of the "Dark-Sky 1 Mission"
> Dark-Sky 1 is jointly funded by DIU and Blue Origin. [5]
DIU is "The Pentagon’s commercial technology arm, the Defense Innovation Unit"
[1] https://www.blueorigin.com/news/blue-ring-pathfinder-payload
[2] https://www.diu.mil/latest/companies-selected-for-diu-orbita...
[3] https://www.meritalk.com/articles/diu-orbital-logistics-awar...
[4] https://www.geekwire.com/2024/blue-origin-ring-darksky-1/
[5] https://spacenews.com/defense-innovation-unit-awards-three-c...
"Dark Sky" funded by the Pentagon. Sounds chipper.
If there's anything in the name, I would guess an anti-satellite EMP.
They did meaningful mission badges in NROL a few decades ago, someone found the birds thanks to that and they stopped. Best to assume nothing.
If that were the case it'd be just another treaty violation from out of control spooks.
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I wonder if it might need some extra mass simulators (probably not depending on how heavy the payload is)