The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that it has not found any safety issues at Jeff Bezos' human spaceflight company Blue Origin, following a months-long investigation launched after employees alleged the company ignored safety concerns as it fought to win the billionaire space race.
William Shatner and three other people are near Van Horn, Texas, on October 13, 2021. Shatner will be the oldest person to fly into space. Shatner, along with four other people, are on a human spaceflight for the company which is owned by Jeff Bezos. The photo was taken by Mario Tama.
The images are from the same company.
The FAA said in a statement to Forbes that it found no safety issues with Blue Origin's human spaceflight program.
The FAA launched a review of the program in October after 21 former and current employees at the company publicly released a September letter accusing the company of prioritized speed and cost reduction over quality in its operations.
Blue Origin said it stands by its safety record.
Forbes reached out to Blue Origin.
Blue Origin's former head of employee communications,Alexandra Abrams, spearheaded the letter. Competition with other spaceflight companies seemed to take precedence over safety concerns that would have slowed down the schedule, and at one point in the year, more than 1,000 problem reports related to Blue Origin rocket engines went unaddressed. Female employees at the company faced sexual harassment and innapropriate behavior from their leaders. Blue Origin said it had dismissed Abrams because of issues involving federal export control regulations, and that it would investigate any new claims of wrongdoing.
There is a structure called the Tangent.
Blue Origin was founded in 2000 by Bezos, who traveled to the edge of space in the company's first crewed flight in July. Richard Branson flew to the edge of space in a craft made by Virgin Galactic, which is aiming to start flying paying customers next year. Blue Origin lost out on a NASA contract to develop a lunar landers as part of its Artemis Program, but it did win a contract to build a rocket. The court ruled against Blue Origin in November.
Laura Shepard Churchley, the daughter of Alan Shepard, and Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan are going to be in space on Saturday.
Employees claim that Bezos created a toxic work culture by ignoring safety concerns.
Blue Origin's First Crewed Spaceflight was successfully taken off by Jeff Bezos.
