Bezos Blue Origin: Blue Origin, the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is about to end a long-term business relationship that was made years ago to build a commercial space station. Insiders say there has been a major reorganization with a change in leadership and reassignment of staff to better reflect the most important goals.
As a strategic move early this year, Blue Origin moved many of its employees working on the Orbital Reef project, a business space station they were building with Sierra Space. Three solid sources said that these experts moved on to other important tasks, such as Blue Origin’s joint project with NASA to build a lunar lander and a secret project to build a way to move people around in space.
Even though a Blue Origin representative said Sierra was still working with Orbital Reef, they would keep the information private. The restructuring of the Orbital Reef team shows how hard it is to find a personal replacement for the ISS, which has been running for more than 20 years. The International Space Station (ISS), built by a group of governments and cost more than $100 billion, is about to be taken out of service.
Brent Sherwood, the genius in charge of Orbital Reef for Blue Origin’s Advanced Development Programs, will leave by the end of the year. The business says that Sherwood is going but needs to consider the reorganization. These results came from people who didn’t want to be named because the changes have yet to be made public. The partnership’s weakness was hinted at. Still, details about staffing changes and Sherwood’s departure needed to be included.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and Blue Origin, tries to give the business a sense of urgency when important projects face big problems. Bezos recently told the Blue Origin team that before the end of the year, an experienced Amazon executive named Dave Limp would take over as CEO.
Blue Origin’s suborbital tourism launch, New Shepard, hasn’t been used for over a year because of an accident in 2022. Blue Origin’s first trip into Earth’s orbit could be more exciting because its giant New Glenn rocket is still being prepared.
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Plans for Orbital Reef, a space business park in low Earth orbit, were made public in 2021 when Blue Origin and Sierra Space announced they would work together. The ambitious microgravity science laboratory was meant to be used for study, business, government, and tourism. Sierra Space, part of Sierra Nevada Corp., raised $1.4 billion. A third of that money went to help Orbital Reef.
Unfortunately, the teamwork that was going well has gone wrong. There are problems and conflicts at the administrative level. When asked for comment, Sierra Space refused.
Some Orbital Reef employees who moved to Blue Origin are now part of a secret scheme to make satellites that can move around in space. In a recent job posting, this project was called a “cutting-edge satellite management system” that can handle a large group of vehicles with a small team.
Others found out they were sent to Blue Moon, the name of the company’s planned lunar lander. NASA gave Blue Origin $3.4 billion this year for this journey to the moon, and the company plans to raise more money on its own.
As the International Space Station (ISS) gets closer to its retirement in 2030, NASA is considering getting more money 2026 for one or two space stations. Industry insiders know the short time frame and fear that China’s state space station would only control the low-Earth orbit market with a private replacement.
Sceptics question whether four privately built space stations can be profitable in what they see as a small orbital market.
Blue Origin, in charge of the group project, seems ready to keep building its version of a space station even without Sierra. But we still need to learn more about this single trip. Even though the contract says that NASA has to be told about any changes to the relationship, NASA disputes any official communication of those changes. The end date for the business deal between Blue Origin and Sierra has yet to come.
Our Reader’s Queries
What is the concept of Blue Origin?
Blue Origin has a vision of a future where we can access the vast resources of space and relocate harmful industries to preserve our planet, which we call our blue origin. This would allow us to protect Earth and ensure the survival of humanity for generations to come.
Has Blue Origin reached orbit?
Despite its expansion and diversification within the space industry, Blue Origin has not yet achieved the milestone of launching anything into Earth’s orbit.
What is happening with Blue Origin?
Blue Moon, the lunar lander currently in development by the company, is set to revolutionize cargo deliveries to the moon’s surface. In addition, the company has partnered with SpaceX and Dynetics to create a human-rated moon lander that will transport astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024 as part of NASA’s Artemis Program. This exciting collaboration promises to bring us one step closer to exploring and understanding our nearest celestial neighbor.
Where is Blue Origin in Phoenix?
Blue Origin, the renowned spaceflight company, has recently established a new office in Phoenix. This move is expected to generate numerous job opportunities in the Valley. The company has acquired a spacious area of 43,200 square feet at 2325 E. Camelback Road to accommodate its operations. With this expansion, Blue Origin is set to make a significant impact in the region’s job market.