Blue Origin CEO brings Amazon’s customer-first culture to space company

• Jeff Bezos’ space rocket company, Blue Origin, has long lagged behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
• Its CEO, David Limp, believes adopting some of Amazon’s customer-centric culture will help.
• He’s also waiting for the November launch of the New Glenn rocket to prove it can compete.

Jeff Bezos started his rocket company Blue Origin with a mission to make spaceflight so cheap that it would usher in a new era of “entrepreneurial dynamism.”

But since its inception, Blue Origin has lagged behind other rocket companies, such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Its new CEO, David Limp, who spent 15 years at Amazon, believes that taking a page from the e-commerce giant’s customer-centric culture could be the key to turning things around.

“Even though 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 nearly a year ago was that it was stuck in a research and development phase and needed to start production more quickly and put the customer — whether it’s a human of science or a space tourist – in 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 actually flew … but that’s not what we want to do to get to a world-class manufacturer,” Limp said. CNBC.

Limp said ramping up engine production and successfully launching the company’s signature New Glenn rocket were his two main goals for 2024. The company plans to launch New Glenn by the end of the year, which, if it goes smoothly, would it was to prove itself in a big way. it can still compete with SpaceX.

The massive rocket stands more than 320 feet tall and is designed with partially 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 accomplished.

Blue Origin began 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 will be adventurous. It will be fun. I’m excited about it… but if we (don’t) stick the landing the first time, that’s okay. We have another booster right behind him. I’m going to build more,” Limp told CNBC.

Blue Origin did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider.