Blue Origin

Overview Blue Origin is a U.S. aerospace and space‑technology company founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos. Headquartered in Kent, Washington, and led by CEO Dave Limp, the company develops reusable launch vehicles, rocket engines, and lunar and in‑space systems. Launch Services • New Shepard: A suborbital launch system that supports research payloads and paid astronaut flights from West Texas. Operations resumed in 2024. As of October 2025, the program has completed 36 flights and flown 86 humans (80 individuals) to space. • New Glenn: A heavy‑lift, two‑stage launch vehicle designed for partial reusability. New Glenn reached orbit on its maiden NG‑1 mission on January 16, 2025, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. The vehicle is advertised to deliver more than 13 metric tons to GTO and up to 45 metric tons to LEO. The near‑term manifest includes government and commercial missions, including NASA’s ESCAPADE Mars mission targeted for late 2025. Propulsion • BE‑4: Methalox, oxygen‑rich staged‑combustion engine powering New Glenn’s first stage and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur. • BE‑3 / BE‑3U: Hydrolox engines used on New Shepard (BE‑3) and New Glenn’s upper stage (BE‑3U). • BE‑7: Hydrolox engine for the Blue Moon lunar lander. Blue Origin operates high‑rate engine manufacturing in Huntsville, Alabama, with testing in West Texas. Lunar and In‑Space Systems • Blue Moon: Human Landing System for NASA’s Artemis V mission under a multi‑billion‑dollar award; program includes crewed and cargo variants. • Blue Ring: A multi‑mission orbital transfer and hosting platform to deliver and operate payloads from LEO to cislunar and beyond. • Orbital Reef: A proposed commercial low‑Earth‑orbit destination developed with partners under NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations initiative. Customers and Contracts • National security: Selected to compete for U.S. Space Force National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 missions; additional government task‑order contracting pathways support rapid‑response missions. • Commercial: Multi‑launch commitments from Amazon’s Project Kuiper (12 firm New Glenn launches with options for 15 more). New Shepard continues to serve research institutions and private astronaut customers. Industrial Footprint Major facilities include headquarters and R&D in Kent, Washington; Launch Site One in West Texas for New Shepard operations and engine testing; the Huntsville, Alabama engine factory; and Florida’s Space Coast infrastructure centered on Launch Complex 36 and nearby manufacturing and integration facilities at Exploration Park. Blue Origin also owns Honeybee Robotics and supports STEM education through the Club for the Future nonprofit.