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My feeling is that he was largely motivated by BlueOrigin's weak position. He's 57 and Amazon is a scarily large behemoth firing on all cylinders, what else is

My feeling is that he was largely motivated by BlueOrigin's weak position. He's 57 and Amazon is a scarily large behemoth firing on all cylinders, what else is there to do there? Meanwhile, the company developing his lifelong passion and obsession is struggling badly. I mean, they seem to be doing well compared to old companies (ULA) and governments, but Starship is going to be a step change in access to space if they pull it off. It'd be great if he can focus on and fix BlueOrigin.

iso1631 5y ago
Has Blue Origin put anything in space yet? Rocketlabs and spacex have regular commercial clients, and even virgin orbital have reached orbit. (and of course ULA keep launching just like they always did)
- chriswarbo 5y ago
  They've crossed the Kármán line, but only for a few minutes at a time (going up, then falling back down). They've not reached orbit (going sideways fast enough to "miss the ground"). Their New Glenn rocket hasn't flown yet (and probably hasn't been built yet; they're very secretive, compared to e.g. SpaceX). Their engines will be used on ULA's upcoming Vulcan rocket, which should be a low-risk source of income for them, but also low-reward compared to rockets and spacecraft.
jackfoxy 5y ago
Blue Origin is not doing well compared to ULA. In fact, ULA is none too pleased with Blue Origin, which has failed to deliver the BE-4 rocket engine required for ULA's next generation Vulcan rocket. https://spacenews.com/with-ulas-new-rocket-vulcan-behind-schedule-space-force-agrees-to-let-atlas-5-fill-in/ https://spacenews.com/with-ulas-new-rocket-vulcan-behind-sch...
kilroy123 5y ago
I've thought the same thing. Though, I also suspect Bezos is behind the reasons why they're limping along so slowly. My prediction is he'll work on BO full-time and mess things up even more over there. Not make them better.
okprod 5y ago
I still remember the talk he gave where he wants to build self-sustaining (to the extent possible) habitats in space where people can work, live, etc.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- tclancy 5y ago
  Probably just for the Prime subscription revenue though.
  - colejohnson66 5y ago
    The best spots could be rented under the “Prime Space” banner ;)

iso1631 5y ago

Has Blue Origin put anything in space yet? Rocketlabs and spacex have regular commercial clients, and even virgin orbital have reached orbit. (and of course ULA keep launching just like they always did)

chriswarbo 5y ago
They've crossed the Kármán line, but only for a few minutes at a time (going up, then falling back down). They've not reached orbit (going sideways fast enough to "miss the ground"). Their New Glenn rocket hasn't flown yet (and probably hasn't been built yet; they're very secretive, compared to e.g. SpaceX). Their engines will be used on ULA's upcoming Vulcan rocket, which should be a low-risk source of income for them, but also low-reward compared to rockets and spacecraft.

jackfoxy 5y ago

Blue Origin is not doing well compared to ULA. In fact, ULA is none too pleased with Blue Origin, which has failed to deliver the BE-4 rocket engine required for ULA's next generation Vulcan rocket. https://spacenews.com/with-ulas-new-rocket-vulcan-behind-schedule-space-force-agrees-to-let-atlas-5-fill-in/ https://spacenews.com/with-ulas-new-rocket-vulcan-behind-sch...

kilroy123 5y ago

I've thought the same thing. Though, I also suspect Bezos is behind the reasons why they're limping along so slowly. My prediction is he'll work on BO full-time and mess things up even more over there. Not make them better.

okprod 5y ago

I still remember the talk he gave where he wants to build self-sustaining (to the extent possible) habitats in space where people can work, live, etc.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
tclancy 5y ago
Probably just for the Prime subscription revenue though.
- colejohnson66 5y ago
  The best spots could be rented under the “Prime Space” banner ;)