Jeff Bezos started his Blue Origin rocket company with a mission to make flying to space so cheap it would open up a new era of “entrepreneurial dynamism.”
But since its founding, Blue Origin has fallen behind other rocket companies, like Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Its new CEO, David Limp, who spent 15 years at Amazon, thinks taking a page from the e-commerce giant’s customer-centric culture could be the key to turning things around.
“Even if the technology is really nice and fun … the customer has to be front and center,” he told CNBC in a recent interview.
Limp said part of the problem at Blue Origin when he took over almost a year ago was that it was stuck in a research and development phase, and needed to start manufacturing faster and putting the customer — whether that’s a scientist or a space tourist — front and center.
“We were very, very good at building shiny factories and very good at building high-fidelity prototypes. And some of those prototypes even flew … but that’s not what we want to do to scale to be a world-class manufacturer,” Limp told CNBC.
Limp said boosting engine production and successfully launching the company’s signature New Glenn rocket were its two main goals for 2024. The company plans to launch New Glenn by the end of the year, which, if it goes smoothly, would go a long way to proving it can still compete with SpaceX.
The massive rocket stands more than 320 feet tall and is designed with partly reusable features, similar to SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. Limp said he hopes New Glenn will make history by returning its reusable booster after its first test in November, something no other company has achieved.
Blue Origin has taken to calling the rocket “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance,” which is written on the rocket itself, in a reference to its goal of landing its booster on the first try.
“It’ll be adventurous. It’ll be fun. I’m excited about it … but if we [don’t] stick the landing the first time, that’s OK. We’ve got another booster right behind it. We’ll build more,” Limp told CNBC.
Blue Origin did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider.
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