The private firm has been tight-lipped on New Glenn’s production status and plans for bringing it to market. “Of course, I cannot guarantee that they will respect their initial timeline, but we are confident that they will not be very far from it,” Leroy said.Ī Blue Origin spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment about the company’s hiring practices, strategy or competitive challenges. Yohann Leroy, Eutelsat’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, declined to discuss details of his company’s contract with Blue Origin, but said he was optimistic New Glenn will be ready to carry his firm’s satellite by the end of 2022.

The firms have padded their contract, which covers the launch of a geostationary satellite in the period 2021-2022, so that Blue Origin will incur no penalties if it is late, the person added. They requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.īlue Origin has privately acknowledged in conversations with French satellite firm Eutelsat SA - its first New Glenn customer - that its 2020 time frame is “very aggressive,” a person with direct knowledge of talks between the companies said. With the clock ticking on 2020, company engineers are still finalising details on New Glenn’s design and just beginning to build model components that must be put through extreme testing, people familiar with the project said.

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