Bezos' Blue Origin to halt space tourism flights to focus on moon mission

By Loren Grush

 

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin will pause tourist flights to space for “no less than two years” in order to prioritize development of its moon lander and other lunar technologies. 

“The decision reflects Blue Origin’s commitment to the nation’s goal of returning to the Moon and establishing a permanent, sustained lunar presence,” Blue Origin said in a statement announcing the news.

 

The move is a clear sign that Blue Origin is going all in on its moon program as the company races with rival SpaceX to be the first private company to land humans on the lunar surface for Nasa’s Artemis program. 

 

Blue Origin holds a $3.4 billion contract with Nasa to develop its Blue Moon lander, designed to shuttle astronauts to and from the moon, with a landing originally targeted for 2029.

 

The pause in tourist flights effectively grounds the company’s reusable New Shepard rocket, which has sent more than 90 people to the edge of space and back to experience brief periods of weightlessness. Bezos flew on the first crewed flight of New Shepard in 2021, and the vehicle has flown various celebrities including Katy Perry, William Shatner and Michael Strahan. 

However, 2026 stands to be a big year for Blue Origin’s lunar efforts. The company is targeting the launch and landing of a cargo version of its lander as soon as this year, as a test ahead of eventually landing humans. Blue Origin has also presented an accelerated plan to Nasa for developing a lander that may be ready for carrying astronauts ahead of Starship, the large new rocket from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

 

New Shepard is a suborbital rocket, which means it cannot achieve orbit around Earth, limiting its commercial potential. Blue Origin debuted its much more capable orbital rocket, New Glenn, in 2025. The company showcased the rocket’s ability to both deploy satellites in space and land upright after launch, making the vehicle partially reusable.

 

To date, Blue Origin has flown its New Shepard rocket 38 times, with a nearly perfect track record. New Shepard suffered an engine failure during an uncrewed flight in September 2022, which halted flights of the vehicle for over a year.

 

Earlier this month, the company announced it will build a satellite communication network called TeraWave to deliver connectivity to data centers, governments and businesses. Blue Origin said it will begin deploying the network in the fourth quarter of 2027. 

 

The company also recently hired the former chief executive officer of rival rocket company United Launch Alliance, Tory Bruno, to focus on defense-related space applications.