Blue Origin, the company that operates space flights, is being accused by former and current employees. It is owned by Jeff Bezos.
Alexandra Abrams (ex-head of employee communications at Blue Origin) wrote an open letter stating that the company's culture is indicative of the worst aspects of our world and needs to change.
Lioness whistleblower forum published the letter. It states: While gender gaps in the space industry are not uncommon, they are also common at Blue Origin, where they manifest as sexism. Many senior leaders are known for being insensitive to women.
Further, the letter alleges that senior figures in the organization were reported for harassment. New female employees were also warned to avoid another executive who allegedly groped another female colleague. The letter also states that the majority of the workforce was male and overwhelmingly black.
Blue Origin spokesperson stated that they do not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any type. Blue Origin offers many avenues to employees, including an anonymous hotline that is available 24/7. We will also investigate any new allegations of misconduct.
The letter then makes allegations about safety. It asks: What blind spots do you see in an organization whose mission is to help humanity achieve a better future? Blue Origins flaws go further, unfortunately.
The letter claims that safety concerns regarding Blue Origins New Shepard rocket were raised by women, but they were repeatedly shut down. Bezos, his three crewmates, and a suborbital flight to the edge of space that took 11 minutes to complete, touched down in Texas desert. The Amazon billionaire described the experience as one of the most memorable days ever.
The letter claims that Blue Origin prioritized speed over safety. Company leaders became increasingly impatient with New Shepards' 2020 schedule, which was limited to a handful of flights per year. Their goal, routinely communicated regularly to operations and maintenance personnel, was to increase that number to 40. Some felt that the race for leadership to launch at such an alarming speed, despite having all the resources and staff they had, was seriously compromising safety.
The Federal Aviation Administration (US regulator) stated on Thursday that it takes all safety allegations seriously and is currently reviewing the information.
Blue Origin spokesperson stated that Abrams was fired for cause in 2012 after being warned repeatedly about federal export control regulations. CBS News first reported the allegations. Abrams stated that she had never been warned about export control issues.
Blue Origin added that the New Shepard space vehicle is the most safest ever designed and built.
Nine days after Richard Branson's successful first suborbital flight, Bezos' flight was made, it was nine days before Bezoss flew.
CBS News reported that Bezos began to become impatient, while Elon Musk and Branson [SpaceXs] were moving ahead, Abrams said. Then, we felt this growing pressure and impatience which would certainly filter down to the leadership.
According to the letter, a Blue Origin team in 2018 reported more than 1,000 problems related to Blue Origins rocket engines. These reports were never addressed.
Blue Origin announced that the 18th New Shepards mission will take place on October 12th.
