Blue Origin NS-31 Mission
Engineering Blue Origin’s Historic NS-31 Mission Broadcast
60+Onsite Production Crew
35Total Cameras
6Drones
3Mobile Units
In This Case Study:
Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission featured an all-women crew and required a live broadcast workflow capable of capturing every phase of the mission from a remote launch site in West Texas.
With only two weeks to prepare, BMG was brought in to design, engineer, staff, and execute the full live production from Launch Site One, located 30 miles from the nearest town.
BMG mobilized a 60+ person production and engineering crew, built a complete video village on site, deployed a 35-camera production system, and delivered live coverage of the pre-launch show, rocket launch, astronaut landing, and post-launch press conference for a global audience.
BMG Main Services
The Challenge: Building a Mission-Critical Broadcast Operation in the Desert
Two-Week Deployment Timeline
BMG had only two weeks to plan, engineer, staff, and deploy the full production workflow.
That required fast coordination across production management, engineering, crewing, mobile unit integration, transmission, communications, camera planning, power, and on-site logistics.
Remote Launch Site Conditions
Launch Site One is located 30 miles from the nearest town, which meant the broadcast environment had to be built almost entirely from the ground up.
BMG needed to account for power, connectivity, signal routing, crew coordination, communications, fiber deployment, transmission, monitoring, and redundancy in a remote desert environment.
Full Mission Coverage
The broadcast needed to capture more than the launch itself.
Coverage included the 90-minute pre-launch show, live launch coverage, astronaut landing, recovery moments, post-launch interviews, and the live press conference with the six astronauts.
Large-Scale Site Coverage
The production required camera coverage across multiple areas of the launch site, including the mobile stage, astronaut training center, viewing stations, launch site, landing area, and press conference environment.
Each source had to be integrated into one coordinated production workflow.
Historic Broadcast Responsibility
NS-31 featured an all-women crew, making the mission a major moment for Blue Origin and spaceflight storytelling.
The production needed to match the significance of the event with reliable technical execution and polished live coverage for a global audience.
The Solution: A Full-Scale On-Site Broadcast Environment
BMG designed and deployed a complete live production ecosystem for the NS-31 mission, combining mobile production units, video village infrastructure, fiber connectivity, communications systems, transmission technology, and a large multi-camera production plan.
Video Village and Mobile Production Infrastructure
BMG built a complete video village on site to serve as the operational center of the broadcast.
The production hub included multiple NEP Denali mobile production units, including A, B, and C units, which supported the core broadcast workflow. These units were used for live switching, signal routing, production coordination, engineering support, and transmission management.
BMG also integrated redundant power sources, thousands of feet of feeder cable, a lighting grip truck, and a live mobile broadcast SUV to support the remote production environment.
Site-Wide Fiber and Signal Connectivity
BMG implemented a fiber optic network across the launch site to connect key production areas back to the video village.
This included fiber connections from locations such as the astronaut training center and viewing stations, allowing critical feeds and production signals to move reliably across the site.
The fiber infrastructure helped turn a remote launch facility into a connected broadcast environment built for live mission coverage.
Communications Engineering
Clear communication was essential across the 60+ person crew and the wide launch site.
BMG deployed a layered communications system using RTS Odin and Romeo, Riedel, Clear-Com, and Unity systems to keep production leadership, engineers, camera teams, field crews, and broadcast operators connected throughout the mission.
This communications approach gave the team the coordination needed to manage live coverage across multiple locations, camera positions, and mission phases.
Mobile Stage and Anchor Coverage
BMG supported a mobile stage that served as the broadcast center for the pre-launch show and post-launch coverage.
The stage setup included four studio cameras on pedestals, a jib with prompter integration, one ENG camera connected by fiber, and one ENG camera using LiveU and Starlink technology.
This gave the broadcast a polished presentation environment while keeping the anchor desk fully integrated into the larger production workflow.
35-Camera Mission Coverage
BMG deployed a 35-camera production system to capture the full scope of the NS-31 mission.
The camera package included:
- 6 drone cameras
- 6 robotic cameras
- 6 tracking cameras
- 11 fixed cameras
- 3 BMG 4K Sony PTZ cameras
- Studio pedestal cameras
- ENG cameras
- Specialty cameras across the launch site
This approach allowed the production to capture the pre-launch environment, launch sequence, aerial perspectives, landing coverage, astronaut moments, and press conference coverage from multiple angles.
Transmission and Redundancy
To support reliable live delivery from the remote location, BMG used LiveU bonded cellular technology backed by Starlink.
This gave the production additional transmission flexibility and helped protect the live signal in an environment where traditional connectivity was limited.
Combined with the on-site video village, fiber network, mobile units, and redundant power strategy, BMG created a broadcast workflow built for reliability under demanding conditions.
Production Staffing and On-Site Execution
BMG mobilized a 60+ person production and engineering team to manage the broadcast from planning through execution.
The crew supported production management, engineering, camera operations, communications, technical operations, transmission, live switching, field coordination, and overall broadcast execution.
With so many moving parts across the launch site, BMG’s team ensured the production stayed coordinated through pre-launch coverage, liftoff, landing, and post-launch interviews.
Impact
BMG helped Blue Origin deliver a polished global broadcast of one of the most significant New Shepard missions to date.
In just two weeks, BMG built a complete live production environment at a remote desert launch site, deployed a 35-camera system, coordinated more than 60 crew members, and delivered uninterrupted coverage across the full mission timeline.
The production showed BMG’s ability to move quickly, engineer complex field workflows, and build broadcast infrastructure where traditional production environments do not exist.
For Blue Origin, the result was a live broadcast operation capable of capturing the scale, emotion, and historical significance of NS-31 from pre-launch through post-flight coverage.
Deliverables
90-minute pre-launch broadcast production
Full live launch coverage and mission tracking
Astronaut landing and recovery coverage
Live post-launch press conference broadcast
35-camera multi-angle capture system
Full video village deployment with redundant power
Fiber optic network infrastructure across launch site
Mobile stage for live presentation coverage
NEP Denali A/B/C mobile production units
Advanced intercom and communications networks
60+ person on-site production and engineering crew
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