Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin halts space tourism trips: new goal, the Moon

Blue Origin, the space exploration company founded by Jeff Bezos, announced on January 30th the temporary suspension of its space tourism flights aboard the suborbital rocket New Shepard. The company's new focus will be to accelerate the development of technologies and capabilities for manned missions to the Moon, in line with NASA 's plans to return and establish a stable presence on the natural satellite.

End of an era: pause in tourist flights

Since 2021, Blue Origin has offered suborbital flights of approximately ten minutes, taking passengers beyond the Kármán line — the point considered the threshold of outer space — located at 100 kilometers above sea level. These trips, aimed primarily at people with high purchasing power, celebrities, and special guests, allowed Blue Origin to transport a total of 98 people. Among the most prominent passengers are Jeff Bezos himself, the actor William Shatner, the athlete Michael Strahan, the journalist Gayle King, and the singer Katy Perry.

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The company has not disclosed the exact number of customers expected to travel in the future, nor the ticket prices. Now, those who had reservations for upcoming flights will have to wait, as Blue Origin has not specified when tourist operations will resume. In its statement, the company explained that this decision responds to the need to concentrate resources and talent on projects that allow to "further accelerate the development of human lunar capabilities." The objective is to contribute directly to the return of American astronauts to the lunar surface and the establishment of a permanent and sustained presence on the Moon. Lunar race: political pressure and technological competition The reorientation of Blue Origin occurs in a context of renewed international competition for lunar exploration. Both Blue Origin and SpaceX, the company of Elon Musk, hold contracts with NASA to develop landing modules capable of transporting astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface. SpaceX is in charge of the module that should be used in the Artemis III mission, the first American lunar landing since the Apollo program, scheduled for 2028. However, possible technical delays could open the door for Blue Origin to take the lead if it manages to advance faster in the development of its own module. Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation and former interim administrator of NASA, indicated in recent statements that the agency is not willing to depend on a single provider. "If SpaceX falls behind, but Blue Origin can do it sooner, congratulations to Blue Origin! But we're not going to wait for just one company. We're going to push this and win the second space race against China," Duffy said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" program.

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Political pressure is relevant, as several U.S. lawmakers insist that NASA must put astronauts on the Moon before China, whose space program foresees a manned landing by 2030. The next February 8 is scheduled the first manned flight of the Artemis program, which will circumnavigate the Moon without landing on its surface. The new NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, a millionaire with experience in private spaceflights, has acknowledged the importance of accelerating deadlines and maintaining competitiveness against China. Isaacman reported that in January he held meetings with SpaceX and Blue Origin to "understand the latest plans to accelerate NASA's Artemis schedule."

Uncertain future for space tourism

The statement from Blue Origin does not clarify how many people will have to wait to fly aboard the New Shepard when tourist operations resume, nor whether tickets purchased will be refunded. For now, the priority is the Moon and meeting NASA's demands within the framework of the Artemis program. The decision marks a strategic shift for Jeff Bezos's company, which is putting its most visible and media-oriented facet on hold to focus on the development of key technology for lunar exploration. The future of commercial space tourism is, at least for the moment, off Blue Origin's immediate agenda, on the eve of a new stage in the space race.