Case Study: BMG builds live production from the ground up for historic Blue Origin launch

In a remote stretch of West Texas, 30 miles from the nearest town, Blue Origin launched its NS-31 mission, the first crewed spaceflight featuring an all-women team. Behind the broadcast of the event, a 60-plus person crew from Broadcast Management Group (BMG) engineered a full-scale live production in just two weeks.

BMG was tasked with designing the infrastructure and executing live coverage of the pre-launch show, rocket launch, astronaut landing and post-launch press conference at Launch Site One near Van Horn, Texas.

“We’ve spent over 20 years producing large-scale, multi-camera live broadcasts, and the NS-31 mission brought all of that experience into play. We built a full video village onsite and delivered a seamless live show from one of the most remote locations we’ve worked in. It was a technically demanding production, and the team executed it to perfection,” said Todd Mason, CEO and founder of BMG.

Given the remote environment, one of the primary challenges was establishing a reliable broadcast infrastructure with full redundancy.

BMG deployed NEP’s Denali A, B and C mobile units to serve as the main production control center. These trucks, configured for high-bandwidth output and live switching, were supported with redundant power sources to avoid interruptions.

A mobile video village was constructed on-site to serve as the central hub, connected via a temporary fiber-optic network that linked the astronaut training facility, viewing platforms and other key production areas.

The communications backbone included systems from RTS, Riedel, Clear-Com and Unity to keep teams coordinated in real time across the sprawling launch facility.

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The team utilized LiveU bonded cellular technology, supplemented by Starlink, to ensure a reliable stream for a global audience. This hybrid connectivity approach ensured signal stability across a site that lacked consistent wired internet.

For the visual coverage, BMG deployed 35 cameras, including:

• 6 drones for aerial footage
• 6 robotic cameras for remote and tracking views
• 6 tracking cameras
• 11 fixed-position cameras, including several Sony 4K PTZs
• Studio pedestals, ENG cameras, and a jib setup at the anchor desk

Footage from each source was integrated live, with switching handled onsite. BMG also managed lighting, staging and audio for the on-camera elements, including the pre-launch and press events.

Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission was a suborbital spaceflight conducted on April 14, 2025, as part of the company’s New Shepard program.

The 10-minute, 21-second flight carried an all-female crew of Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez. The mission marked the first all-women crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo flight in 1963.