Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp brings urgency to Jeff Bezos’ space company

Dave Limp asked Jeff Bezos just one question last year when he interviewed him to become CEO of the billionaire’s space venture, Blue Origin.

“Jeff, is Blue Origin a hobby or a business?” Limp asked.

After 14 years as a senior Amazon Limp, the executive, told CNBC that he made it clear to Bezos that he was not interested in leading Blue Origin unless the nearly 25-year-old venture was intended to become a full-fledged company. spoke.

“I don’t know how to do a hobby,” Limp said, adding, “Even if it was a hobby, it wasn’t right for me.”

But Bezos was adamant that Blue Origin needed to be a business, he said.

Mr. Limp acknowledged that he needed some persuasion from Mr. Bezos to move into space. “My first reaction was, ‘I’m not an aerospace engineer, so this isn’t the right role for me,'” he said. But he decided to take a leap of faith.

“Jeff felt that way. [Blue Origin] Required manufacturing expertise. Decisiveness was needed. It takes a little bit of energy,” Limp said.

Mr. Limp has now been Blue Origin’s CEO for nine months. He took over the reins from previous management, which greatly expanded the company’s headcount and infrastructure but fell years behind on some major programs and lost out on competition for major government contracts.

For years, Blue Origin has been flying tourists and researchers, including Bezos himself, to the edge of space on short notice. And over the past two decades, Bezos has spent billions of dollars a year turning Blue Origin into a space powerhouse. The company’s projects range from rockets and spacecraft to space stations and lunar landers.

However, since the U.S. launch market is still dominated by SpaceX and then United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin is not in the serious rocket development game when it comes to the industry’s stake in orbital missions. Not participating. rocket lab and Firefly Aerospace.

But the company said it is closer than ever to the long-awaited debut of its New Glenn rocket. The nearly 320-foot-tall launch vehicle is touted to lift as much as 45,000 kilograms (or more than 99,000 pounds) into low Earth orbit. That’s twice as much as SpaceX’s flagship Falcon 9 rocket.

Like the Falcon 9, the New Glenn is designed to be partially reusable. Blue Origin aims to return and land the booster, the largest and most valuable part of the rocket, unlocking the kind of cost and time efficiencies SpaceX claims with its rockets.

New Glenn’s first launch attempt is scheduled for November. Blue Origin is currently in the final stages of putting everything together. Important recent test firing of the rocket’s upper stage last month.

The company originally aimed for the daring feat of flying NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars to coincide with New Glenn’s debut. However, the authorities delayed the release of ESCAPADE as the release window was narrow. Instead of a mission, Blue Origin will fly a spacecraft demonstration blue ring At the first New Glenn launch.

Headquartered in the Seattle suburb of Kent, Wash., Blue Origin has more than 10,000 employees and is located in six major locations across the United States, including industry strongholds in Texas, Florida and Alabama. Mr. Limp candidly said that Blue Origin “has been in the research and development phase for a long time,” and that this is an aspect of the company’s culture that he is trying to change.

“We were very good at building shiny factories, we were very good at building high-fidelity prototypes, and some of those prototypes even flew…but that’s because we That’s not what we want to do to grow into a world-class manufacturer,” Limp said.

“We need to be able to build a lot of things,” he added.

But he said there is a genuine excitement for space across Blue’s workforce, which he described as the basis of a “missionary culture.” In Limp’s view, Amazon’s customer-centric principles drive the tech giant’s culture, but Amazon doesn’t have the “passionate mission that exists in Blue.”

“People’s eyes light up and are almost T-shaped. They grew up thinking about space, always wanted to work in the space industry, and here they are here at Blue, working in space,” Limp said. spoke.

He is now implementing Amazon’s customer centricity as a key part of Blue Origin. Although Blue’s customers, such as NASA, ULA, and suborbital astronauts, are quite different from the consumers Limp once focused on, his message to Blue’s employees is to serve customers best. Make it a priority.

“Even if the technology is really cool and fun, the customer needs to be at the forefront,” Limp said.

To further change Blue’s culture, Limp highlighted a number of key leadership additions. Jennifer Pena-Leanos joins Limp as chief human resources officer after previously serving as a human resources executive on the Amazon Devices team. Ian Richardson has been appointed Senior Vice President of Manufacturing Operations after a long stint as SpaceX’s Director of Production. Tim Collins has been appointed vice president of global supply chain, having previously led global operations for Flexport and Amazon.

Mr. Limp also made changes by moving more of the company’s personnel to the factory floor.

“When you go into a factory, you can tell if the factory is running well or not,” he said. “No matter how much you invest in equipment or what kind of equipment you have, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t using it properly. It’s like having a shiny new car sitting in your driveway. How fun is that?” ”

Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine powers both the New Glenn rocket and the launch vehicle. ULA’s Vulcan Rocket. The latter requires two engines per launch.

Perhaps even more optimistically, Blue aims to land New Glenn on its first launch, giving its booster a cheeky name: “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance.” No company has failed to land on its first attempt with an orbital rocket booster, and New Glenn will aim for a 200-foot-wide pad in orbit. A ship named Jacklin in the Atlantic Ocean.

“It’s going to be adventurous. It’s going to be fun. I’m really looking forward to it…but if we [don’t] There is no problem as long as you land firmly at first. There is another booster right behind it. We’re going to make more,” Limp said.

It seems almost inevitable that New Glenn’s future will involve manned spacecraft — especially given Blue’s long-standing mission. “I imagine living and working in space for the benefit of all.” Currently, only SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is certified by NASA to fly astronauts to and from orbit. Boeing’s Starliner suffered another setback this summer.

But when asked about the development of the New Glenn crew capsule, Limp held off: “I have nothing to say about that.”

Blue Origin has gained experience in the suborbital region of low-risk human spaceflight with its New Shepard rocket and capsule. Limp noted that Blue Origin is working to “bring New Shepard back up to regular service,” operating both crew and research cargo.

This year, we have accomplished two New Shepherd missions. Aiming for 3rd place next week. The mission will include a new rocket booster and capsule to add a second rocket “to further meet growing customer demand,” the company said, after losing a booster in a cargo flight breakdown in September 2022. It will also be installed.

Beyond New Glenn and engine production, Blue is making further progress. Last year, the company won a $3.4 billion contract from NASA to build a lunar lander for NASA’s astronauts. Blue won a spot in the Pentagon’s lucrative National Security Space Launch Program in the spring, a turnaround after missing out on the pre-NSSL phase in 2020.

As for Limp, he spends time every two-and-a-half weeks doing “a little back and forth” between Blue Origin facilities. From headquarters in Seattle, he will meet with customers in Washington, D.C., then tour engine manufacturing and testing in Huntsville, Alabama, and conclude with a tour of New Glenn’s operations in Cape Canaveral, Texas. It’s all part of his interest in leading a proper space company, not a billionaire’s hobby.

“Have the financial discipline to build a business you love. Also, make quick decisions knowing that you will make some mistakes. But make sure you don’t make the same mistakes and Let’s heal quickly,” Limp said.