The facade of Blue Origin's new rocket engine manufacturing unit in Huntsville, Alabama.CNBC | Michael SheetzThe chief working officer of Jeff Bezo
The facade of Blue Origin’s new rocket engine manufacturing unit in Huntsville, Alabama.
CNBC | Michael Sheetz
The chief working officer of Jeff Bezos’ non-public house firm Blue Origin is leaving, the corporate confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday.
Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith wrote in an e-mail to the corporate that COO Terry Benedict’s final day shall be Friday, Dec. 3, folks acquainted with the matter advised CNBC. Whereas these folks mentioned Smith didn’t elaborate within the e-mail as to why Benedict is leaving, Blue Origin confirmed his departure to CNBC.
“We are able to verify that Terry Benedict has determined to pursue alternatives exterior of Blue Origin and we want him nicely in his future endeavors,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement to CNBC.
Benedict was named as COO in July 2018, after a greater than 4 decade profession for the U.S. Navy. Earlier than Blue Origin, he most not too long ago served from Could 2010 to Could 2018 because the director of the Navy’s Strategic Techniques Applications – which focuses on sea-based deterrent techniques equivalent to missiles.
His departure comes with the corporate not on time on a number of items of its bold portfolio of rockets and engines. Blue Origin is looking for to compete in opposition to the likes of Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk’s SpaceX within the sectors of sub-orbital house tourism and heavy elevate rockets, respectively. Bezos’ firm can also be main a consortium with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper to win additional NASA contracts to construct an astronaut lunar lander, competing in opposition to SpaceX and Leidos’ subsidiary Dynetics.
4 years in the past Blue Origin’s management anticipated its house tourism rocket New Shepard to launch folks by the tip of 2017. However the firm has not put a crew within the rocket’s capsule as of its newest flight in October – and plans to conduct at the least three extra uncrewed check flights earlier than doing so.
Blue Origin checks one of many BE-Four rocket engines the corporate is creating to launch its New Glenn rocket.
Blue Origin | gif by @thesheetztweetz
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