Editing Blue Origin (section)

{{Short description|American aerospace company}}
{{redirect-multi|2|BE-1|BE-2|other uses|Be-1 (disambiguation)|and|BE2 (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P.
| logo =
| logo_size = 230px
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| industry = [[Space industry|Space]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|2000|09|08}}
| founder = [[Jeff Bezos]]
| hq_location_city = [[Kent, Washington]]
| hq_location_country = United States
| num_locations = 11 (4 production facilities & 7 field offices)
| area_served = United States of America
| key_people = [[Dave Limp]] ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]])
| products = [[New Shepard]]<br />[[New Glenn]]<br />[[Blue Moon (spacecraft)|Blue Moon]]<br />[[Blue Ring]]<br />[[Orbital Reef]]
| revenue = 
| owner = Jeff Bezos
| num_employees = 11,000 (2023)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-new-glenn-rocket-a328067 |title=Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Plots Launch of Its Mega Rocket. Next Year. Maybe. |date=August 9, 2023 |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |first=Micah |last=Maidenberg |access-date=August 9, 2023 |archive-date=August 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809121654/https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-new-glenn-rocket-a328067 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| subsid = [[Honeybee Robotics]]
| website = {{url|https://www.blueorigin.com/|blueorigin.com}}
| module = {{infobox network service provider|child=yes}}
}}

'''Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P.''' is an American [[space technology]] company headquartered in [[Kent, Washington]]. The company operates the suborbital [[New Shepard]] rocket and the heavy-lift [[New Glenn]] rocket. In addition to producing engines for its own rockets, Blue Origin supplies engines for other vehicles, including United Launch Alliance's [[Vulcan Centaur]]. It is also working on the [[Blue Moon (spacecraft)|Blue Moon]] human lunar lander for NASA's [[Artemis program]], the [[Blue Ring]] spacecraft platform, and the [[Orbital Reef]] space station in partnership with other organizations.

Founded in 2000 by [[Jeff Bezos]], Blue Origin initially operated with a [[stealth startup|very low profile]], funded by Bezos's private investments. In 2015, the company achieved a significant milestone with the first uncrewed launch and landing of the New Shepard and announced plans for New Glenn. In 2021, New Shepard completed its first crewed mission with Bezos himself on board, crossing the [[Kármán line]], the conventional definition of the edge of space, {{convert|100|km|sp=us}} above sea level. Another key achievement came in January 2023 when the company delivered its first [[BE-4]] rocket engine to United Launch Alliance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Erwin |first=Sandra |date=2020-07-02 |title=Blue Origin delivers the first BE-4 engine to United Launch Alliance |url=https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-delivers-the-first-be-4-engine-to-united-launch-alliance/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20200704212056/https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-delivers-the-first-be-4-engine-to-united-launch-alliance/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite these milestones, Blue Origin has faced criticism for its perceived slow progress, particularly when compared to [[SpaceX]]. Addressing these challenges, the company underwent a leadership change in September 2023, appointing [[Dave Limp]] as CEO to succeed Bob Smith.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berger |first=Eric |date=2023-09-25 |title=Jeff Bezos finally got rid of Bob Smith at Blue Origin |url=https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/09/bob-smith-is-finally-gone-from-blue-origin-his-replacement-comes-from-amazon/?comments-page=1#comments |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-US}}</ref>

On January 16, 2025, Blue Origin reached orbit with the first launch of the New Glenn vehicle.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-16 |title=Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launches massive New Glenn rocket on first test flight |url=https://apnews.com/article/blue-origin-new-glenn-rocket-jeff-bezos-2466fb0e114a09d88a46f71a1e647d50 |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin completed its 11th human spaceflight and its 31st spaceflight for the New Shepard Program with an all-female crew of six.