Topic
12 facts from 2 episodes, in date order. These are what speakers said on the shows, each linked to the moment it was said. They aren't independently verified.
1961
Jeff Bezos says Americans estimated about a 75 percent chance of success for Alan Shepard's suborbital flight as the first American in space.
“the Americans thought that the Alan Shepard flight, the flight that, you know, New Shepard is named after the 1st American in space. He'd gone on his suborbital flight. They thought he had about 75% chance of success.”
Undated
Brad Stone says Bezos initially kept Blue Origin's investment and team small and started with suborbital flight, while Elon Musk's SpaceX pursued a much bigger effort.
“Bezos was constraining his investment at Blue Origin and wanted to keep the team small and wanted to start with suborbital space.”
Undated
Blue Origin's Blue Ring spacecraft has both chemical and electric propulsion, according to Jeff Bezos.
“Uh, it has two different kinds of propulsion, it has chemical propulsion and it has electric propulsion”
Undated
Jeff Bezos says the New Glenn booster has seven BE-4 engines.
“The booster has seven BE-4 engines, the each engine generates a little more than 550 pounds of thrust.”
Undated
Jeff Bezos says the BE-4 engine will also power the first stage of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket.
“and that engine is also going to power the 1st stage of the Vulcan rocket, which is the United Launch Alliance rocket.”
Undated
Jeff Bezos explains that friction stir welding joins metal by stirring the pieces together rather than melting them, which leaves welds as strong as the bulk material.
“And instead of using heat to weld two pieces of metal together, it literally stirs the two pieces.”
Undated
Jeff Bezos says New Shepard has an automated escape system built around a solid rocket motor in the base of its crew capsule.
“We have a solid rocket motor in the base of the crew capsule, so that if anything goes wrong on ascent”
Undated
Jeff Bezos says he stepped down as Amazon CEO mainly to spend time on Blue Origin.
“And the reason, the primary reason I did that is so that I could spend time on Blue Origin.”
Undated
Jeff Bezos said Blue Origin had hired Dave Limp as its new CEO.
“We just hired a new CEO, a guy I've known for close to 15 years now, a guy named Dave Limp, who I love.”
Undated
Jeff Bezos says Blue Origin's Mark II lander for NASA's Artemis program is designed to be reusable and to land and take off as a single stage.
“so that lander is designed to be reusable. It can land on the surface of the moon in a, in a single stage configuration and then take off.”
Undated
Jeff Bezos says Blue Origin has built a solar cell from simulated lunar soil that is about 7 percent efficient.
“We've already built a solar cell that is completely made from lunar regolith simulant, and this solar cell is only about 7%, uh, power efficient”
Undated
Jeff Bezos says meetings at Amazon and Blue Origin typically start with a six-page narrative memo that attendees read silently for about 30 minutes.
“a typical meeting will start with a six-page narratively structured memo, and we do study hall.”
Episodes