Blue Origin has effectively ended its suborbital space tourism program, a move that may signal the permanent shutdown of the New Shepard initiative. The small rocket and capsule have been flying since April 2015, but with 38 launches and 36 landings under their belt, the company has decided to shift focus towards further accelerating human lunar capabilities.
According to an internal email from Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, the decision was made to redirect resources towards New Glenn, a reusable rocket designed for lunar missions. The move comes as no surprise, given the program's long history of financial struggles and Bezos' significant investment in the venture.
Despite its success in sending 98 people to space over the years, the New Shepard program has always been seen as a stepping stone for Blue Origin's larger ambitions. In an effort to reduce costs and prioritize its core mission, the company will now focus on establishing a permanent lunar presence through its New Glenn rocket.
The cancellation of the New Shepard program may come as a blow to those who had planned to fly on the service, including several high-profile individuals such as Jeff Bezos himself. However, industry insiders see this move as a positive development for NASA and the US space industry as a whole.
By shifting focus towards lunar missions, Blue Origin is well-positioned to compete with SpaceX for contracts under the Artemis Program, which aims to return humans to the Moon by 2025. While the end of New Shepard marks a significant change in direction for Blue Origin, it also represents an opportunity for the company to refocus its efforts and make meaningful progress towards its long-term goals.
In an internal email, senior vice president Phil Joyce acknowledged the program's accomplishments, stating that "This program has laid the groundwork for our company's future success." With this move, Blue Origin is taking a step towards realizing its vision of establishing human settlements in space.
According to an internal email from Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, the decision was made to redirect resources towards New Glenn, a reusable rocket designed for lunar missions. The move comes as no surprise, given the program's long history of financial struggles and Bezos' significant investment in the venture.
Despite its success in sending 98 people to space over the years, the New Shepard program has always been seen as a stepping stone for Blue Origin's larger ambitions. In an effort to reduce costs and prioritize its core mission, the company will now focus on establishing a permanent lunar presence through its New Glenn rocket.
The cancellation of the New Shepard program may come as a blow to those who had planned to fly on the service, including several high-profile individuals such as Jeff Bezos himself. However, industry insiders see this move as a positive development for NASA and the US space industry as a whole.
By shifting focus towards lunar missions, Blue Origin is well-positioned to compete with SpaceX for contracts under the Artemis Program, which aims to return humans to the Moon by 2025. While the end of New Shepard marks a significant change in direction for Blue Origin, it also represents an opportunity for the company to refocus its efforts and make meaningful progress towards its long-term goals.
In an internal email, senior vice president Phil Joyce acknowledged the program's accomplishments, stating that "This program has laid the groundwork for our company's future success." With this move, Blue Origin is taking a step towards realizing its vision of establishing human settlements in space.
... like who wouldn't want to blast off into space with the billionaires? But I guess it makes sense for Bezos' big plans 
. Reducing costs and focusing on lunar missions is a smart move, imo 
. Now they can start competing with SpaceX for those Artemis contracts 
. And hey, at least we'll get to see more progress towards human settlements in space 
. It's crazy how fast the space industry is evolving... like what even happened to all that money? 
It's like we're back at the early days of space tourism all over again...
. I mean, it's not like people were clamoring to pay $250k to fly on a tiny rocket that goes up and comes back down again... 38 launches and 36 landings isn't bad, but I guess it just wasn't enough to make those bank 
Anyway, I'm sure Jeff Bezos is super bummed to be missing out on his chance to blast off into space himself, but hey, someone's gotta keep an eye on SpaceX 
and that's something we should all be excited about! it's not over yet, there will still be opportunities for people to go to space in other ways... maybe with new Glenn? 
. Plus, Bezos himself won't have to worry about paying customers on his personal space flight adventures 
.
and i think it's totes sus...like they knew the $$$ would be tight 
but still, 98 people flew on new Shepard lol 
! guess it was always meant to be a stepping stone for them lunar goals 
so, let's keep our fingers crossed for blue origin and their new glenn rocket 
arent they gonna get their money back or something? 
guess it was just a testing ground for them to work on more important stuff like lunar missions... Bezos is still gonna be all over the moon, lol 
read more here: 
. I mean, who wouldn't want to experience weightlessness and see the Earth from space? It was like a dream come true for all the space enthusiasts out there 
. But at the same time, I can understand why Blue Origin would wanna focus on something more... substantial 
. So yeah, I guess it's a trade-off between short-term excitement and long-term progress