History of Blue Origin in Timeline

Blue Origin, headquartered in Kent, Washington, is an American space technology company focused on enabling access to space. It develops and operates the New Shepard suborbital rocket and the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket. Blue Origin also manufactures engines for its own rockets and external clients like United Launch Alliance. Furthermore, the company is actively involved in lunar exploration with its Blue Moon lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program, the Blue Ring spacecraft platform, and the development of the Orbital Reef space station in collaboration with partner organizations.

March 5, 2005: Charon makes its only test flight

On March 5, 2005, Blue Origin's first flight test vehicle, Charon, made its only test flight at Moses Lake, Washington. It flew to an altitude of 96 m (316 ft) before landing.

November 13, 2006: Goddard (PM1) successfully completes its first flight

On November 13, 2006, Blue Origin's next test vehicle, named Goddard (also known as PM1), first flew successfully.

November 2006: First Test Vehicle Launch

In November 2006, Blue Origin launched its first test vehicle, the Goddard rocket, which reached an altitude of 285 feet, marking an early milestone in the company's development.

2009: NASA awards Blue Origin $3.7 million for commercial crew development

In 2009, NASA awarded Blue Origin $3.7 million via a Space Act Agreement under the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program. The funding supported the development of concepts and technologies for future human spaceflight, including a reusable 'pusher' escape system and a composite pressure vessel cabin.

November 8, 2010: Blue Origin completes milestones under CCDev Space Act Agreement

On November 8, 2010, Blue Origin announced it had completed all milestones under its CCDev Space Act Agreement with NASA.

April 2011: NASA commits $22 million in funding to Blue Origin under CCDev phase 2

In April 2011, NASA committed $22 million in funding to Blue Origin under the CCDev phase 2 program. The milestones included performing reviews on the orbital Space Vehicle, maturing the pusher escape system, and accelerating development of its BE-3 LOX/LH2 engine.

May 6, 2011: PM2 performs a short hop test flight

On May 6, 2011, Blue Origin's PM2 suborbital test vehicle had its first flight, a short hop (low altitude, VTVL takeoff and landing mission) in west Texas.

August 24, 2011: PM2 flight test fails

On August 24, 2011, Blue Origin's second flight of PM2 failed when ground personnel lost contact and control of the vehicle. As the vehicle reached Mach 1.2 and 14 km altitude, a flight instability triggered the range safety system to terminate thrust, and the vehicle was lost.

2012: Blue Origin does not submit a proposal for CCiCap

In 2012, Blue Origin did not submit a proposal for NASA's Commercial Crew Program follow-on CCiCap solicitation, which aimed to develop crew delivery to the ISS by 2017, but continued its development program with private funding.

September 2013: Blue Origin protests NASA's plan to award exclusive lease of Launch Pad 39A to SpaceX.

In September 2013, Blue Origin filed a protest with the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), contesting NASA's plan to award an exclusive commercial lease to SpaceX for Launch Pad 39A.

October 1, 2013: NASA's bid award is delayed

NASA had originally planned to complete the bid award and have the pad transferred by October 1, 2013, but the protest delayed a decision until the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) reached a decision on the protest.

December 2013: GAO denies Blue Origin's protest of NASA's Launch Pad 39A decision.

In December 2013, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) denied Blue Origin's protest and sided with NASA, upholding the agency's decision to allow either multi-use or single-use proposals for Launch Pad 39A.

December 2013: BE-3 Engine Testing Milestones

As of December 2013, Blue Origin's BE-3 engine had demonstrated more than 160 starts and 9,100 seconds (2.5 hours) of operation at the company's test facility near Van Horn, Texas, including full-duration sub-orbital burns, simulated coast phases, and engine relights.

2013: Blue Origin receives $25.7 million in NASA funding.

By 2013, Blue Origin had received a total of $25.7 million in funding from NASA for several small development contracts.

2013: Blue Origin bids to lease Launch Complex 39A and is rejected

In 2013, Blue Origin bid to lease Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center for shared use, but the commercial use of the complex was awarded to SpaceX for exclusive use.

April 2014: NASA signs 20-year lease contract for Launch Pad 39A to SpaceX.

In April 2014, NASA selected the SpaceX proposal and signed a 20-year lease contract for Launch Pad 39A to SpaceX.

July 2014: Jeff Bezos invests over $500 million into Blue Origin

By July 2014, Jeff Bezos had invested over $500 million into Blue Origin.

September 2015: Public Announcement of Orbital Launch Vehicle Intentions

In September 2015, Blue Origin publicly announced its intentions to develop an orbital launch vehicle with a reusable first stage that would perform a powered vertical landing.

January 2016: New Rocket Announcement

In January 2016, Blue Origin indicated that its new rocket would be significantly larger than New Shepard, hinting at the scale of its orbital ambitions.

September 2016: New Glenn Design and Name Announcement

In September 2016, Blue Origin publicly released the high-level design of its orbital launch vehicle and announced its name as "New Glenn," a heavy-lift vehicle with two- and three-stage variants.

2016: Charon on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle

As of 2016, the Charon flight test vehicle is on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.

2016: Jeff Bezos funds technology development

In 2016, the vast majority of further funding was to support technology development and operations where a majority of funding came from Jeff Bezos' private investment fund.

April 2017: Jeff Bezos sells Amazon stock to invest in Blue Origin

In April 2017, it was published that Jeff Bezos was selling approximately $1 billion in Amazon stock per year to invest in Blue Origin. Jeff Bezos has been criticized for spending excessive amounts of his fortune on spaceflight.

2017: Crew Delivery to ISS

In 2017, NASA's Commercial Crew Program aimed at the development of crew delivery to ISS

2019: Blue Origin receives $181 million from the United States Air Force

In 2019, Blue Origin received $181 million from the United States Air Force for launch vehicle development. The company was also eligible for further grants totaling $500 million as part of the U.S. Space Force Launch Services Agreement competition.

April 30, 2020: Blue Origin wins $579 million contract for Human Landing System development.

On April 30, 2020, Blue Origin and its partners won a $579 million contract to develop and test an integrated Human Landing System (HLS) for NASA's Artemis program.

June 6, 2020: Establishment of O'Neill Building

On June 6, 2020, Blue Origin established a new headquarters and R&D facility called the O'Neill Building.

April 16, 2021: NASA selects SpaceX over Blue Origin for Human Landing System development

On April 16, 2021, NASA officially selected SpaceX to develop, test, and build their version of the Human Landing System (HLS) for Artemis missions 2, 3, and 4, meaning that Blue Origin lost its first bid to work on the Artemis program.

July 20, 2021: First Crewed New Shepard Mission

On July 20, 2021, Blue Origin's New Shepard performed its first crewed mission, Blue Origin NS-16, to sub-orbital space with passengers Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Wally Funk, and Oliver Daemen, crossing the Kármán line during the approximately 10-minute flight.

2021: Blue Origin receives $275 million from NASA for lunar lander projects and sub-orbital research flights

In early 2021, Blue Origin received over $275 million from NASA for lunar lander projects and sub-orbital research flights.

October 31, 2022: First BE-4 Engines Delivered to ULA

On October 31, 2022, Blue Origin announced via Twitter that the first two BE-4 engines had been delivered to ULA and were being integrated on a Vulcan rocket, with one engine already installed on the booster.

November 18, 2022: Agreement paves way for New Glenn to compete for national security launch contracts.

On November 18, 2022, the U.S. Space Systems Command announced an agreement with Blue Origin that "paves the way" for the company's New Glenn rocket to compete for national security launch contracts.

December 6, 2022: Blue Origin submits a second bid for lunar lander development.

On December 6, 2022, Blue Origin announced that it had submitted a second bid via the NASA Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) competition to fund and develop a second lunar lander.

January 2023: First BE-4 Engine Delivery

In January 2023, Blue Origin delivered its first BE-4 rocket engine to United Launch Alliance, marking a key achievement for the company's engine development program.

May 19, 2023: NASA Contract for Blue Moon Development

On May 19, 2023, NASA awarded Blue Origin a $3.4 billion contract to develop, test, and deploy the Blue Moon landing system for the Artemis V mission, supporting lunar exploration and future crewed missions to Mars, with a crewed Moon landing planned for 2029.

Loading Video...

June 7, 2023: Vulcan Centaur Flight Readiness Firing

On June 7, 2023, United Launch Alliance (ULA) conducted a Flight Readiness Firing of the Vulcan Centaur rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida, with the two BE-4 rocket engines performing as expected, marking a crucial step towards its first flight.

September 2023: Leadership Change

In September 2023, Dave Limp was appointed as CEO of Blue Origin, succeeding Bob Smith, in a move to address criticisms regarding the company's progress.

October 2023: Blue Ring Vehicle Announcement

In October 2023, Blue Origin announced the Blue Ring vehicle, which is designed with its own engine for orbital logistics and delivery.

2023: Blue Origin reports hundreds of millions in revenue and billions in orders

In 2023, Bob Smith of Blue Origin stated that the company had "hundreds of millions in revenue as well as billions of dollars in orders".

2023: NASA awards Blue Origin $35 million for lunar regolith work

In 2023, NASA awarded Blue Origin $35 million for their work on using lunar regolith to create solar powered systems on the moon. The company's "Blue Alchemist" project aims to produce solar cells from lunar regolith through molten regolith electrolysis, which would also generate oxygen as a byproduct.

January 8, 2024: First Vulcan Centaur Launch

On January 8, 2024, Vulcan Centaur launched for the first time, successfully carrying Astrobotic Technology's Peregrine lunar lander, which was the first mission on NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, and utilizing the BE-4 engine.

March 2024: DarkSky-1 Mission Announcement

In March 2024, it was announced that the capabilities of Blue Origin's Blue Ring will be tested on a mission called DarkSky-1 in partnership with the United States Space Force.

January 2025: Blue Origin achieves orbital spaceflight with New Glenn

In January 2025, Blue Origin achieved orbital spaceflight with the maiden launch of New Glenn.

January 16, 2025: First New Glenn Orbital Launch

On January 16, 2025, Blue Origin successfully reached orbit with the first launch of the New Glenn vehicle, marking a significant milestone for the company.

February 25, 2025: 10th Space Tourism Mission

On the morning of February 25, 2025, Blue Origin launched its 10th space tourism mission, sending six paying passengers to suborbital space. This flight marked the company's tenth human flight and its 30th overall flight of New Shepard.

April 14, 2025: New Shepard 31st Spaceflight with All-Female Crew

On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin completed its 11th human spaceflight and its 31st spaceflight for the New Shepard Program with an all-female crew of six.

2029: Blue Origin Plans Crewed Moon Landing

Blue Origin is planning to launch a crewed mission to the moon in 2029 for the agency's Artemis V mission, which explores the Moon and prepares future crewed missions to Mars.