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Blue Origin Partners With Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper to Build Lunar Lander

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Blue Origin is working with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper to build a human-capable lunar landing system. (Photo Credit: Blue Origin / Twitter)

Blue Origin is partnering with industry giants Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper to build a human-capable lunar landing system for moon trips.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin, unveiled the lunar lander update on Tuesday. The trio, which signed teaming agreements with Bezos’ company, has years of experience supporting NASA with deep-space missions, interplanetary navigation, launch vehicles, and human space flight systems.

“We have put together a national team to go back to the moon,” Bezos said at the 70th International Astronautical Congress in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 22. “We could not ask for better partners.”

Here’s how each partner will contribute to the lunar landing system: Lockheed Martin will lead crewed flight operations and training and create the reusable Ascent Element vehicle. Northrop Grumman will provide the Transfer Element vehicle that will bring the landing system down towards the moon’s surface. Lastly, Draper will oversee descent guidance and provide flight avionics.

While collaborating with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper, Blue Origin as the prime contractor will lead program management, safety and mission assurance, mission engineering, and systems engineering, while providing the Descent Element that’s based on creation of the Blue Moon lunar lander and its BE-7 engine.

“National challenges call for a national response. We are humbled and inspired to lead this deeply committed team that will land NASA astronauts on the moon,” said Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin. “Combining our partners’ heritage with our advance work on the Blue Moon lunar lander and its BE-7 engine, our team is looking forward to working with NASA in support of the Artemis program.”

In May, Bezos and Blue Origin introduced Blue Moon, the company’s new lunar lander that’s powered by liquid hydrogen, contains an on-board navigation system, and leverages gigabit internet to communicate messages back to Earth. The lunar lander, which has been kept under wraps until this major announcement, aims to accelerate human moon exploration in the coming years.

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