I wasn’t going to even write an article on this because, like many others, I didn’t view the NS-31 flight as newsworthy, at least from a scientific or technological standpoint. But there is a deeper story here – why does Blue Origin seem to be squandering time, money, and resources on this particular program? The real money is in launch contracts, and SpaceX appears to be leaving Blue Origin (aka Blue) behind on the proverbial pad.
On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket launched from West Texas, carrying an all-female crew on a suborbital flight that lasted just over 10 minutes. This mission, designated NS-31, marked the first all-female spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo mission in 1963.
The crew included singer Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and pilot Lauren Sánchez, who is also the fiancée of Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos . During the flight, the capsule crossed the Kármán line—the recognized boundary of space—allowing the passengers a few minutes of weightlessness before returning safely to Earth.
Since the New Shepard launch, a fiery debate has erupted in both the mainstream media as well as social media, with many calling the flight a publicity stunt. It hasn’t really helped that despite doing little except showing up for the ride, at least one of the crew members has suggested that she should be considered an astronaut. Critics point to the high cost of the flight and question its scientific value, suggesting it was more about spectacle than substance.
There have been 11 crewed flights of New Shepard now, and beyond the first few, there has not been much demonstrable value other than space tourism. There has been no significant new science or technology demonstrated by most of these flights, just as Chuck Yeager once said, “Spam in a can”.
While New Shepard is currently the most visible endeavor of Blue Origin, in all fairness, the company is pursuing other things of much more practical value. Earlier this year, Blue had the first launch of their New Glenn heavy lift rocket from Cape Canaveral, which met with mixed success, and is promising a second flight before summer. Following that launch, the company had a highly publicized round of layoffs, stating they were transitioning their focus from research and development to launch operations. Still, the pace seems comparatively slow to competitor SpaceX for the foreseeable future.
Blue Origin has the incentives to succeed in the form of several lucrative public and private contracts. Just recently, Blue Origin was awarded seven missions as part of the U.S. Space Force’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 2 program, with those missions planned for launch in a later year. These missions are valued at approximately $2.4 billion. Blue Origin’s involvement in the NSSL program marks the first time the company has been selected to launch sensitive national security satellites.
Blue has one big problem though… while viewed by many as one of the most likely competitors to SpaceX, in terms of development and accomplishments, they are far from it. With SpaceX often launching multiple times a week, and always with a definable purpose, Blue Origin seems to launch….well… once in a Blue Moon. (pun intended). And we still don’t know why.
Alpha Tech released a video this week that contrasts the status and efforts of the two companies much more clearly than we could without writing a novel. While the video leans heavily toward SpaceX, we really can’t disagree with any of the facts. Without further ado, here it is. It’s well worth watching.
