Opinion: Blue Origin needs to stop their childish Kármán Line argument

With the upcoming flight of Richard Branson on Unity22 this weekend it’s easy to say there’s probably some tension between Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson. But instead of raising to the occasion and celebrating the strives of their industry, Blue Origin throws a low blow and trashes Galactic on a technicality.

Today someone at Blue Origin PR decided it was a good idea to create a graphic stating why those looking to spend half a million dollars on a joy ride to space should choose them. Their focus was that they fly above 100 km (the Kármán Line) while their competition only passes 80 km.

For those that don’t know the meanings of these two values here is a brief explanation. Theodore von Kármán conducted a study to determine at what altitude does an aircraft had to travel fast enough that it would have to fly at orbital velocity aka being in space. The answer came out to between 80 and 100 km and while the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale places the boundary at 100 km, NASA and the US Air Force recognize 80 km as the boundary of space.

Only 4% of the world recognizes a lower limit of 80 km or 50 miles as the beginning of space. New Shepard flies above both boundaries. One of the many benefits of flying with Blue Origin. pic.twitter.com/4EAzMfCmYT

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 9, 2021

For a company that doesn’t seem to spend enough time on their biggest projects, they sure do focus enough time ruining their public reception. Blue Origin is already struggling with a PR nightmare with many viewing the company in a negative light due to their founder.

The fact that someone signed off on this tweet blows my mind. Trying to say they’re better for a technicality that is already being disputed by the industry shows their incompetence. Jeff Bezos’s corporate bashing is not something we welcome in the new space industry. To quote Virgin Galactic’s test pilot, “this pissing contest about the Karman line is so childish that is getting really embarrassing to watch”, we 100% agree Nicola.

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