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Blue Origin plans to build a 'mixed-use' space station by the end of the decade

2021-11-01T18:13:00-04:00

Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is teaming up with other firms to build a space station in Earth orbit. The group announced its plans on Monday, revealing the latest concept for a privately built orbital outpost that could replace or complement the International Space Station.

Called Orbital Reef, the proposed space station is described as a “mixed-use business park” in space. The project’s announcement comes months after Blue Origin completed its first human space flight, which included Bezos along with three others. Partners in the project include Sierra Space, Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University.

As per Blue Origin’s announcement, Orbital Reef “will provide the essential infrastructure needed to scale economic activity and open new markets in space.” The company intends for the station to serve a range of customers from space agencies to media and travel companies. They also claim that the station will start operating in the second half of this decade.

Previously on Archinect: Jeff Bezos wants to go to space because "it's important"

Jeff Bezos wants to go to space because "it's important"

2019-07-19T16:08:00-04:00

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world with a current net worth of $125 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. And he’s investing much of his Amazon fortune in the development of space technologies through his aerospace company Blue Origin. Why? “Because I think it’s important,” Bezos tells Norah O’Donnell of CBS Evening News in an interview which aired Tuesday.

In a CBS Evening News special, Amazon's Jeff Bezos shares with Norah O'Donnell the importance of his space initiatives and his aerospace company Blue Origin. In a passionate voice, Bezos exclaims, "We humans have to go to space if we are going to continue to have a thriving civilization."

He goes on to discuss the world's current state and the danger it's under. From overpopulation, climate change, pollution, and big industry, Bezos proclaims, "We are in the process of destroying this planet. And we have sent robotic probes to every planet in the solar system — this is the good one. So, we have to preserve this planet."

Bezos isn't the first person to dream about living in space. His goals for using Blue Origin as a catalyst to make his space city possible has undergone much criticism. Perhaps his aspirations are in the right place, but his plans for this "possible future" have created quite the response from the general public. Critics like Fred Scharmen have shared their reactio...

Is Jeff Bezos' dream for a city in space just a sales pitch? Fred Scharmen breaks it down

2019-05-13T21:00:00-04:00

Now, in 2019, Jeff Bezos wants his private space company to take over the public imagination about life in space. Bezos is the head of a retail empire, and he knows how to sell an image, but what he’s offering today is a watered-down version of nostalgia for yesterday’s future. Bezos’s proposal is a version of O’Neill’s project that somehow manages to look and feel less futuristic than its predecessor.

The possibility of humans living in space is nothing new. Authors, scientists, and designers have all dreamed and formulated how this could be possible. Amazon founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, recently pitched his idea for space habitation and how his private space company Blue Origin would make this possible. After looking at rendered images of Bezos' idea some have noticed the stark similarities between them and former Princeton physicist Gerard O'Neill's work presented in 1975. These similarities are intentional due to Bezos being a former student of O'Neill's. Architectural academic, designer and researcher Fred Scharmen shared with CityLab his thoughts on the new project and its relation to O'Neill's idea.

Rendered image of Jeff Bezos" Blue Origin space city was inspired by former professor Gerard O'Neill. Image © Blue Origin

"With so many similarities evident be...