Blue Origin to Establish Launch Sites Outside of the US
According to the Financial Times, Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is set to broaden its presence worldwide in the ongoing billionaire space race. The company intends to extend its operations to Europe and other regions, with the primary focus being on establishing an international launch facility. While Blue Origin already has established bases in Texas, Washington, Florida, and Alabama, the specific location for this new facility has yet to be determined. Additionally, the company is actively seeking new acquisitions and partnerships beyond the United States, particularly in sectors like manufacturing and software.
“We’re looking at anything we can do to acquire, to better expand our customers,” said Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin. “It’s not a function of size — rather, how much it accelerates our roadmap of what we’re trying to accomplish.” Last year, Blue Origins bought New York-based Honeybee Robotics, in what appears to be a success: The space-based robotics company was part of the Blue Origin team that recently received $3.4 billion to build a lunar lander for NASA’s third Artemis mission. Blue Origin’s biggest competitor, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is handling the first and second Artemis moon landings.
Although Blue Origin was the first to successfully launch, land and reuse a rocket, it has lagged behind its competitors due to delays in building their launch vehicles. Blue Origin’s plans for a global footprint may help them catch up to SpaceX’s progress. Amazon’s Project Kuiper also plans to use Blue Origin’s rocket New Glenn for at least 12 launches between 2024 and 2029 after a few years of delays.
