When Sarah Jennings walked through the gates of Blue Origin’s Kent, Washington headquarters for the first time, she felt the electric buzz of a company on a mission. The year was 2019, and Jeff Bezos’ dream of millions of people living and working in space seemed tantalizingly close. Jennings, a propulsion engineer fresh from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, had been hired to help refine the BE-3 engine that powered the New Shepard rocket. Fast forward to today, and Jennings is no longer at Blue Origin. After three and a half years, she left in early 2023, and now, for the first time, she’s sharing what she saw from inside the spaceflight giant—a story of technical brilliance, cultural turmoil, and the uneasy road back to flight after the company’s first major accident in over two decades.
“I was there for the all-hands meetings after the NS-23 anomaly in September 2022,” Jennings recalls. “Everyone was somber, but also resolute. The message was clear: we need to find out what went wrong and fix it.” The anomaly—a booster failure that triggered the crew capsule escape system mid-flight—grounded New Shepard for 15 months. For Jennings, it was a turning point. “There was a lot of pressure to get back to flying quickly,” she says. “But there was also this underlying tension. Safety engineering is supposed to be paramount, but sometimes the push for cadence overshadowed the fundamentals.”
Innovation Amidst Internal Pressure
Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle achieved something remarkable before the accident: it flew 22 times without a single passenger injury, including six crewed missions. The reusable rocket and capsule combo was designed to take tourists and researchers on a 10-minute journey to the edge of space, crossing the Kármán line at 100 kilometers altitude. For Jennings, the engineering was a source of pride. “The BE-3 engine is a work of art,” she says. “It doesn’t have the flash of a Raptor, but it’s reliable. That’s what you want for a crew vehicle.” Yet, working at Blue Origin wasn’t always about the hardware. Jennings describes a workplace where visionary thinking coexisted with what insiders called “the clock.”
“Bezos would visit and talk about his vision of a ‘Blue Moon’ lander and orbital habitats,” she says. “It was inspiring. But day-to-day, there was a lot of confusion about priorities. We had teams working on New Shepard, the New Glenn rocket, the lunar lander contract for NASA—and often, resources were stretched thin. The accident forced a re-evaluation. Suddenly, everyone was triple-checking every weld, every valve. It felt like we’d lost some of the agility that made us successful in the first place.”
“The accident forced a re-evaluation. Suddenly, everyone was triple-checking every weld, every valve. It felt like we’d lost some of the agility that made us successful in the first place.” — Sarah Jennings, former Blue Origin propulsion engineer
A Culture of Secrecy and Speed
The culture at Blue Origin has long been a subject of speculation. An investigation by the Washington Post in 2021 revealed allegations of sexism and a “toxic” workplace, which Blue Origin denied. Jennings offers a nuanced perspective. “It wasn’t toxic in the way you might think,” she says. “It was more like… elitist. There was a deep belief that we were building the future, and that could justify long hours and extreme loyalty. But it also created an environment where questioning decisions could be seen as disloyal. After the anomaly, that started to change. The FAA investigation was rigorous, and it forced us to be more transparent, even internally.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closed its investigation in September 2023, fining Blue Origin $5.13 million for regulatory violations during the NS-23 flight. The company accepted the penalty and implemented design changes to the engine nozzle and flight controls. New Shepard returned to flight on December 19, 2023, with a successful uncrewed launch of 33 science payloads. For Jennings, watching that launch was bittersweet. “I’m glad they’re flying again,” she says. “But I still wonder if the lessons have fully sunk in. Spaceflight is unforgiving, and you can’t cut corners. I hope Blue Origin has taken that to heart.”
The Human Side of Spaceflight
Beyond the engineering, Jennings’ story touches on the personal cost of building a space company. During her tenure, she saw colleagues burn out, leave for competitors like SpaceX or Relativity Space, or simply step away from the industry altogether. “There’s this romantic idea that working at a space company is a dream job,” she says. “And it is, in many ways. But it’s also 60-hour weeks, constant deadlines, and pressure to hit milestones that affect stock options and company valuation. Some people thrive on that. I realized I didn’t.” Jennings now works as a consultant for research labs developing in-space manufacturing technologies—applications she believes will have a greater impact on human spaceflight in the long term.
Dr. Michael Neufeld, a senior curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, notes that Blue Origin’s struggles are part of a broader pattern in the commercial space industry. “Any aerospace company faces a tension between safety and schedule,” Neufeld says. “With Blue Origin, we saw a company that had immense resources but also incredible demands from its founder to accelerate. The New Shepard anomaly was a humbling moment. It’s a reminder that spaceflight is still inherently risky, and that risk must be managed with rigorous processes, not just innovation.”
What’s Next for Blue Origin?
Looking ahead, Blue Origin has ambitious plans. The New Shepard crewed flights are expected to resume in 2024, with a backlog of tourists and researchers eager to fly. Meanwhile, the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket—first delayed, then redesigned—aims for a maiden launch this year, competing directly with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Starship. “Blue Origin has the talent and the money to succeed,” Jennings says. “But they need to fix their culture first. If they can build an environment where engineers feel safe to speak up, where failure is seen as a learning opportunity rather than a setback, they could become a major force in space for decades. If not… well, other companies are moving fast.”
For now, Jennings is watching from a distance, but she hasn’t given up on the dream that drew her to Blue Origin. “I still believe in the vision of millions working and thriving in space,” she says. “I just think we need to build the path there more carefully. And maybe with a little more humanity.” The next New Shepard launch will prove whether the company has heeded that advice—or whether its journey back will be a longer one than anyone anticipated.
