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| Blue Origin | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Aerospace and launch service provider |
| Founded | September 8, 2000 |
| Founder | Jeff Bezos |
| Headquarters | Kent, Washington, United States |
Number of locations | 11 (4 production facilities & 7 field offices) |
Area served | United States of America |
Key people | Dave Limp (CEO) |
| Products | New Shepard New Glenn Blue Moon Blue Ring Orbital Reef |
| Owner | Jeff Bezos |
Number of employees | 11,000 (2023)[1] |
| Subsidiaries |
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| ASN | 55244 |
| Website | blueorigin.com |
Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P.,[2] commonly referred to as Blue Origin, is an American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider. The company makes rocket engines for United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket and is currently operating its suborbital reusable New Shephard vehicle. Blue Origin is developing its heavy-lift launch vehicle named New Glenn, the Blue Moon human lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program, and Orbital Reef space station in partnership with other companies.
Blue Origin was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos and kept a very low profile about its development in the beginning. Its motto is Gradatim Ferociter, Latin for "Step by Step, Ferociously".[3] At this time, Blue Origin was sustained by Bezos's private investment fund. Fifteen years later in 2015, the company first performed its uncrewed launch and landing of the New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle. In that year, Blue Origin also announced plans for its reusable New Glenn vehicle. In 2021, New Shepard performed the first crewed mission crossing the Kármán line at 100 kilometers in altitude, one of the crew is the company's founder Jeff Bezos. The company delivered its first BE-4 rocket engine to United Launch Alliance in January 2023.[4] In September 2023, Bob Smith was replaced by Dave Limp as the chief executive officer. Eric Berger from Ars Technica noted that there is a wide gulf of technical capability between Blue Origin and SpaceX and other competitiors. While SpaceX was launching hundreds of rockets to orbit, Blue Origin has launched none.[5]
Blue Origin has also been involved in many NASA contracts throughout its history. The company has bids for the Commercial Crew Program to develop a crewed capsule for the International Space Station and use of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 (disputed and now used by SpaceX). Blue Origin (alongside Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper) also submitted the Blue Moon lunar lander proposal for the Artemis program in 2020. It also contested NASA's award to SpaceX for developing Starship HLS for the Artemis program in 2021, which indirectly lead to a contract for its Blue Moon lander in 2023.
- ^ Maidenberg, Micah (August 9, 2023). "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Plots Launch of Its Mega Rocket. Next Year. Maybe". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ "Privacy Policy". Blue Origin. February 15, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
we at Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P. and our subsidiaries and affiliated companies, including Blue Origin, LLC, Blue Origin Alabama, LLC, Blue Origin Federation, LLC, Blue Origin Florida, LLC, Blue Origin Management, LLC, Blue Origin Texas, LLC, and Blue Origin International, LLC, Honeybee Robotics, LLC (referred together as "Blue Origin"
- ^ Boyle, Alan (October 24, 2016). "Gradatim Ferociter! Jeff Bezos explains Blue Origin's motto, logo … and the boots". GeekWire.
- ^ Erwin, Sandra (July 2, 2020). "Blue Origin delivers the first BE-4 engine to United Launch Alliance". SpaceNews. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ Berger, Eric (September 25, 2023). "Jeff Bezos finally got rid of Bob Smith at Blue Origin". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 28, 2024.