US FAA found no Blue Origin safety issues after review

FILE PHOTO: Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos speaks to the media about the New Shepard rocket booster and Crew Capsule model at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. April 5, 2017. REUTERS / Isaiah J. Downing / File Photo

December 10, 2021

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said it found no safety issues after investigating allegations against Blue Origin’s spaceflight program.

The FAA said in September it would review safety concerns raised by former Blue Origin employees. The FAA on Friday said it was closing its investigation after finding “no specific safety issues” and no action against billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space company.

Alexandra Abrams, a former Blue Origin Director of Employee Communications, and 20 other unnamed Blue Origin employees and former employees, said in an essay that they have “seen a decision-making model that often prioritizes real speed. performance and reduce costs compared with appropriate sourcing to ensure quality.”

A spokesman for Blue Origin was not immediately available for comment, but said in September Abrams “was fired for the same reason two years ago following repeated warnings about regulatory issues.” federal exports.”

Abrams told CBS News, which first reported the allegations, she had never received any warnings regarding export control issues.

In July, Bezos flew about 107.5 miles (107 km) over the Texas desert aboard a New Shepard launch vehicle during a suborbital flight.

In September, Blue Origin said it stands “according to our safety record and believes the New Shepard is the safest space vehicle ever designed or built”.

The essay states that a 2018 team at Blue Origin “recorded more than 1,000 incident reports related to the engines that power Blue Origin’s rockets, which have never been resolved”.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Chizu Nomiyama)