


Reusable spacecraft is key ti that, as the cost of access to space is quite prohibitive for all but the deepest pockets.īlue Origin's spacecraft have been designed with reusability in mind, but New Glenn, their larger launcher, is not fully reusable like SpaceX's huge Starship.

Future growth engineįor Blue Origin, growth lies in promoting and incentivizing increased flight sales into space. However, on November 4, 2021, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed the complaint. Blue Origin filed a complaint with the United States Court of Federal Claims on August 13, 2021, challenging NASA's $2.9 billion award to SpaceX for developing the lunar lander, Starship HLS, as part of the Artemis program. However, the relationship between NASA, Blue Origin, and SpaceX has been testy at best. ESCAPADE is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program it is a dual spacecraft mission to study Mars’ magnetosphere." In 2023, NASA awarded Blue Origin the contract for "the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) contract. Virgin Galactic, its nearest rival, asked for $200,000-$500,000 for seats on its future flights.īlue Origin also makes money on sales of its BE-4 Engine, which they say is "the most powerful liquid natural gas (LNG) fueled, oxygen-rich staged combustion engine made in the U.S." United Launch Alliance, a competitor, are one of their customers. The company held a public auction for a seat on its first flight with Bezos, which went under the hammer for $28 million. Speaking with CNBC, Bezos says the “demand is very high.” People have bought into the idea that the lifespan of Earth is in its death throes resulting in the sale of nearly $100 million worth of tickets to embark on tourist flights into space. How Blue Origin makes moneyīlue Origin makes money through space tourism flights, selling engines, and contracts with NASA for spaceflight.īlue Origin’s CEO Bob Smith told The New York Times that the company had “gone from virtually zero revenue to now making hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue annually.” That's a good thing for a company that's looking to escape SpaceX's shadow.

To some, it pales in comparison to what SpaceX has achieved and seems like a pie-in-the-sky venture, but Bezos brings years of experience, billions of dollars, and personal interest. Not very much is known about the inner workings of Blue Origin. How does Blue Origin work?īezos retired from his post as Amazon CEO in 2021, ostensibly to focus on this project, and has spent more than $1 billion of his own money to bring the dream to fruition. Work is underway to develop reusable launch vehicles and in-space systems that are safe, low-cost, and serve the needs of civil, commercial, and defense customers.īlue Origin’s current and future efforts include flying astronauts to space on New Shepard, developing their New Glenn launch vehicle, and returning humans to the surface of the moon. The goal is to tap into the limitless resources of space and move industries damaging to the Earth into space in the quest to preserve nature. His vision was to see millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin.
