Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, launched Blue Origin more than two decades ago. While trailing SpaceX today, the company's most ambitious phase may be just beginning.
Jeff Bezos recently announced he'll step down as Amazon CEO this summer, transitioning to executive chairman. In his letter to employees, he highlighted plans to dedicate more time to his passions, especially Blue Origin, his aerospace venture.
Will Bezos take a hands-on role at Blue Origin? "If Jeff chooses to spend more time at Blue Origin in the next phase of his career, that would be a very good thing”, says Rob Meyerson, the company's president from 2003 to 2017. "He brings great intelligence, great operational expertise, and great mission passion to the company".
Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000, two years before Elon Musk started SpaceX. Early on, the company stayed secretive. Over time, it opened up, unveiling ambitious projects.
The years ahead look packed: suborbital joyrides for affluent tourists via the New Shepard capsule; New Glenn rocket joining NASA's commercial fleet for flights as early as mid-2021; and a bid for the Artemis program's lunar lander to return humans to the Moon by 2024.
Yet SpaceX thrives with Falcon 9 launches, while Blue Origin hasn't sent anyone to space, and New Glenn remains grounded.
Still, trailing SpaceX doesn't mean being far behind.
In a 2016 media tour, Bezos showed journalists a wall mural of two turtles with an hourglass gazing skyward, emblazoned with Blue Origin's motto: Gradatim ferociter—"step by step, fiercely" in Latin.
Like the fable's tortoise, Blue Origin prioritizes steady progress over haste.
Bezos once visited just one day a week, leaving engineers to handle details—unlike hands-on Musk at SpaceX. Now, it's time to shift from R&D to generating revenue and profits.
With Bezos' proven business acumen, this could be the moment Blue Origin surges forward.
