Blue Origin Halts Space Tourism to Focus on Moon

Blue Origin, the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has announced it will suspend its space tourism operations to concentrate on developing lunar capabilities.

The company said Friday that it will “pause” its suborbital tourist flights for at least two years to “reallocate resources toward accelerating the company’s lunar program.” Since 2021, Blue Origin has offered brief flights to space aboard its New Shepard vehicle, carrying celebrities such as singer Katy Perry.

The move comes amid rising competition with Elon Musk’s SpaceX over NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return American astronauts to the Moon. NASA had contracted both companies to develop lunar landers: SpaceX for the first crewed landing and Blue Origin for a subsequent mission.

Delays from SpaceX prompted NASA to express concern and announce in late 2025 a new round of bids for lunar landing contracts. Blue Origin now aims to complete its lunar lander ahead of its rival, taking advantage of growing urgency from the Trump administration to accelerate Moon missions. China is also planning crewed lunar flights by 2030.

The first crewed Artemis 2 mission around the Moon is expected in the coming weeks, marking the first human journey near the Moon in over 50 years. Artemis 3, the mission planned to land on the lunar surface, will depend on progress from both Blue Origin and SpaceX.