Even when a relationship seems to be going well, there might be issues beneath the surface that are not visible from the outside. In some cases, these problems can lead to a breakup. In the situation we are discussing today, there were more business interests than love, interests that might have faded away.
And indeed, Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Amazon’s owner, Jeff Bezos, is reportedly seeking to end a longstanding corporate collaboration with Sierra Space to build a new space station. The company is reassigning its employees to other projects.
According to Reuters, citing sources close to the company, at the beginning of the year, Bezos’ company reassigned most of its employees who were working on the Orbital Reef project, which was meant to be a commercial space station. These employees were reassigned to other programs, including a new lunar landing contract with NASA.
Despite this apparent breakup, a spokesperson for Blue Origin stated that Sierra Space will continue to be a partner in Orbital Reef, although the specifics remain unknown. Among the personnel purportedly withdrawing from the project is Brent Sherwood, Blue Origin’s Head of Advanced Development Programs overseeing Orbital Reef, who is set to leave the company by the end of 2023.
Additionally, other Blue Origin employees who had worked on Orbital Reef have reportedly been reassigned to a secretive “space mobility” program to develop maneuverable satellites. A job posting from 25 days ago describes the project as an “advanced satellite management system capable of operating a large constellation of vehicles with a small team.”
Sources consulted by Reuters claim that Blue Origin would continue to work on its own version of a space station without Sierra Space’s collaboration, but the details remain unknown. So far, NASA has not received any notification of the change in partnership, a requirement stipulated in the contract signed by the companies.
