Blue Origin Ramps Up Rocket Production to Meet "Robust Demand" for Space Tourism

Blue Origin is now looking to produce more New Shephard rockets in order to meet the “robust demand” in commercial space travel and tourism.

Speaking at the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington on Thursday, the Jeff Bezos-owned company’s CEO Bob Smith says that more rockets will be needed if they were to capitalize on the increasing demand within the industry. “I think the challenge for Blue at this point is that we’re actually supply limited,” he said, noting that the company had launched three crewed missions in 2021 and it can “easily double that” this year. The company currently holds two operation New Shephard rocket boosters, and while the price of its tickets isn’t made public, Smith notes that there were “thousands of people in the auction process.”

Last October, the company also received a large amount of criticism over the way it operates, especially when it comes to the safety standards it holds for its space flights. Responding to an open letter written by a group of former and current employees of the company, Blue Origin VP Audrey Powers also addressed the issue of safety in regards to its New Shephard rockets, “I think we put together a very, very robust approach [to safety],” she remarked, adding that the company has been “able to prove that out over the course of the year, with not just one but with three successful [crewed] flights.”

Elsewhere in the tech industry, Elon Musk’s brain chip company Neuralink has denied animal cruelty claims.