Blue Origin

Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000, develops reusable launch vehicles for commercial and defense purposes. In July 2021, it entered the space tourism market with New Shepard, an autonomous rocket-capsule system designed for suborbital flights carrying six passengers. As of December 2024, Blue Origin had completed 28 missions, becoming the first company to offer regular suborbital space tourism flights. The company was also developing New Glenn, a reusable orbital rocket with double the payload capacity of current models.

In January 2022, Blue Origin announced the acquisition of Honeybee Robotics, a company specializing in advanced robotic systems for government and industrial applications. The acquisition aligns with Blue Origin's efforts to advance space exploration technologies.
In May 2023, NASA awarded Blue Origin a USD 3.4 billion contract to build a human landing system for Artemis V. The Blue Moon lander was set for uncrewed testing in 2025, followed by astronaut lunar missions. In October 2023, the company announced Blue Ring, a vehicle for payload logistics between Earth orbit and cislunar space.

Key customers and partnerships

Blue Origin has partnered with key organizations in space exploration and commercial ventures. In October 2021, it announced the development of Orbital Reef, a commercial space station, in collaboration with Sierra Space and backed by partners like Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University. Orbital Reef aimed to support crewed and cargo missions and serve as a hub for industries such as manufacturing, entertainment, and adventure travel.

Blue Origin’s partnerships with government entities have been significant. In October 2022, the company delivered two BE-4 engines for the Vulcan Centaur rocket’s first-stage booster. In November 2022, it entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC), enabling it to compete in National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions. In February 2023, NASA awarded Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket the ESCAPADE contract under its VADR program.

Blue Origin has also expanded its commercial engagements. In June 2024, NASA awarded the company, along with six others, a USD 1.5 million contract for the Mars Sample Return mission. That same month, Blue Origin, alongside SpaceX and ULA, was selected by the US Space Force for the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 launch services contract. In November 2024, the company partnered with AST SpaceMobile to launch BlueBird satellites on New Glenn rockets.