Blue Origin opened its doors to the media on Friday, offering a rare tour of its Merritt Island factory where the company constructs its heavy-lift New Glenn rockets. The tour, led by John Couluris, Blue Origin’s vice president of lunar permanence division, highlighted the company’s latest addition: a factory dedicated to building the Blue Moon lander, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface. The newly completed Lunar Plant 1 will add at least 1,500 jobs to the existing workforce of 4,000.
This facility, painted a vivid blue and spanning 200,000 square feet, is where the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander will be developed for NASA’s Artemis V mission. “That’s where the Artemis landers will be built,” Couluris stated, emphasizing the importance of the new facility. Blue Origin also has a second plant near Port Canaveral, Lunar Plant 2, which is producing the uncrewed Mark 1 version of the lander, scheduled to be sent to the moon later this year.
The first version will undergo a review at NASA’s Johnson Space Center’s thermal vacuum chamber in Houston before its expected launch, integrated with the New Glenn rocket. The New Glenn assembly line, housed in a massive 750,000-square-foot factory, features a stark white floor filled with blue-and-gold painted steel contraptions, housing rocket parts in various stages of completion. The sounds of construction fill the space as workers assemble the components.
Lunar Plant creates 1,500 jobs
“This is the only place where the rockets and landers are built, right near the launchpad,” Couluris pointed out. “So we’re not shipping across the country, preventing delays in transport.”
U.S. Rep.
Mike Haridopolos, chair of the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, praised Blue Origin’s rapid development, noting that Lunar Plant 1 was completed in just 18 months. The company is also focused on hiring local talent, providing career opportunities for local high school graduates. “These aren’t fly-by-night jobs,” Haridopolos remarked.
“These guys recognize the bottom line, and they’re not going to make this multibillion-dollar investment unless they felt like there’s a commercial opportunity.”
Blue Origin is positioned to support NASA’s Artemis V mission but is prepared to accelerate its timeline if necessary. “If NASA wants to accelerate us to go faster, then we would ramp that up faster,” Couluris stated. The significant investment in the Space Coast region is expected to create long-term employment and economic benefits.
Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are the key competitors in developing human landing systems for NASA’s Artemis program, with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 lander contracted for Artemis V.
