Blue Origin Restructures Partnership for Commercial Space Station

Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is undergoing significant changes in its corporate partnership to build a commercial space station. The company has reassigned a majority of its employees working on the Orbital Reef project, a commercial space station planned in collaboration with Sierra Space. This move comes as Blue Origin adapts to more pressing priorities, such as its moon lander contract with NASA and an in-space mobility project.

The shakeup within the Orbital Reef team highlights the challenges faced by the industry in developing a private replacement for the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS, a collaborative effort among multiple government space agencies, has incurred a cost of over $100 billion. The uncertain future of the partnership between Blue Origin and Sierra Space raises questions about the viability of constructing a private space station.

As part of the restructuring, Brent Sherwood, the head of Blue Origin’s Advanced Development Programs overseeing Orbital Reef, is expected to leave the company by the end of the year. Blue Origin has not publicly disclosed these changes, but it has confirmed that Sierra Space will remain a partner in the Orbital Reef project, without specifying the nature of their continued involvement.

Blue Origin, under the leadership of Jeff Bezos, aims to inject a sense of urgency into the company’s operations. The grounding of its suborbital tourist rocket, New Shepard, for over a year following an accident in 2022, and delays in the development of its larger rocket, New Glenn, have prompted the need for strategic adjustments.

The partnership between Blue Origin and Sierra Space was announced in 2021, envisioning the creation of a “business park in space” known as Orbital Reef. This space station would serve as a microgravity science laboratory, catering to companies, government agencies, and tourists. However, recent disagreements and management conflicts have strained the partnership.

Blue Origin employees previously assigned to Orbital Reef have been reassigned to other projects, including a secretive “space mobility” program focused on maneuverable satellites and the development of the Blue Moon astronaut moon lander. Blue Origin secured a $3.4 billion contract from NASA for the moon lander as part of the agency’s Artemis program.

With the ISS expected to retire around 2030, NASA is funding Orbital Reef and three other early proposals. However, the tight deadline and concerns about China’s national space station potentially dominating the low-Earth orbit market have added pressure to the development of private space stations.

While Blue Origin intends to continue working on its own version of a space station without Sierra Space, specific plans have not been disclosed. Blue Origin has not yet informed NASA of any changes in the partnership, as required by their contract.

The restructuring of Blue Origin’s partnership underscores the challenges and complexities involved in building a private space station. As the company adapts to evolving priorities, the future of Orbital Reef and the commercial space station landscape remain uncertain.