Bloomberg Talks

Episode: Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp Talks Lunar Project Focus
Date: February 18, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth interview with Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, focusing on the company's strategic pivot toward lunar projects. The conversation touches on the pause of Blue Origin’s New Shepard program, the competitive landscape in commercial spaceflight, the importance of vertical integration in American aerospace manufacturing, and ambitious plans for lunar permanence. Limp dives into the technical and strategic vision for Blue Origin’s lunar landers, the competition with SpaceX, and the broader implications of a renewed “space race” for the United States and the world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Strategic Shift: From New Shepard to the Moon

• Resource Realignment

  • Blue Origin has paused work on New Shepard—a suborbital rocket best known for celebrity flights (including Katy Perry and Marc Bezos)—to reallocate talent towards lunar and launch projects.
    • “It just made prudent sense from our standpoint to take the brilliant people that were working on New Shepard, pause that for a while... and then repurpose them to even further accelerate our efforts in lunar and launch.”
      — Dave Limp, 00:45
  • The pause is projected to last at least two years, with an eye towards resuming the program later.

• Potential Return

  • Despite the pause, Limp states, “we'll likely go back into that... the easiest ticket to sell was that,” referencing the popularity of civilian spaceflight.
    — Dave Limp, 01:37

2. The New Space Race and Lunar Permanence

• Space Race Framing

  • Limp refrains from direct Cold War comparisons (“I don't think we want another Sputnik moment...”), but stresses the strategic necessity for the U.S. to maintain leadership in lunar exploration.
    — Dave Limp, 02:00

• Vision of Lunar Permanence

  • Blue Origin’s internal project is called “Lunar Permanence”: not just landing astronauts, but enabling lasting human presence on the moon.

    • “We want to keep people on the moon.”
      — Dave Limp, 02:00

  • Limp marvels at the moon as a “cheat code” for humanity:

    • “It's literally three days away. It has no atmosphere, it's got 1/6 gravity... It has every mineral... it has water. We would be crazy as a nation not to figure out how to use that as a stepping stone to the rest of the solar system and beyond.”
      — Dave Limp, 02:38

3. US Aerospace Manufacturing and National Security

• Post-WWII Legacy and Its Loss

  • Limp reflects on the U.S. aerospace industry’s former dominance and vertical integration, lamenting its erosion due to outsourcing.

    • “A couple decades ago, [we] lost the formula and we outsource[d] that supply chain... Building a prototype or one or ten of something is easy. Building... hundreds... that's hard.”
      — Dave Limp, 03:50–04:36

  • Blue Origin now aims to bring manufacturing and supply chains back to the US and close allies:

    • “We're really about trying to pivot and get that supply chain, get that manufacturing capability and make Blue Origin—hopefully others will follow our lead—the world's best manufacturing partner.”
      — Dave Limp, 05:06

4. Lunar Lander Progress and Technical Details

• Current Status

  • Mk1 (“Mark 1”) cargo lunar lander is undergoing cryovac testing in Houston—launch anticipated in 3–6 months.
    • “It’s completely funded by Blue Origin and it will be by far the largest thing that has ever landed on the moon. Now it's cargo only, but it’s a Pathfinder mission...”
      — Dave Limp, 05:24

• Timeline for Human Landing

  • Blue Origin aims to enable crewed lunar landings by 2028, pending NASA’s desire and government support.
    • “I think there’s a path where we could get people back to the moon in 2028 if NASA wants us to.”
      — Dave Limp, 06:18

• Technical Synergy Between Cargo and Human Landers

  • The crewed lander will inherit crucial subsystems from Mk1; key additions are life support and Orion docking.
    • “What we have to add on top of that is life support systems and systems that can support docking with Orion as Orion comes together...”
      — Dave Limp, 06:56

5. Competitive Dynamics: SpaceX and Beyond

• Gradatim Ferociter – “Step by Step, Ferociously”

  • Limp brings up Blue Origin’s motto, emphasizing methodical, iterative progress:
    • “When you’re building space vehicles... you want to do it in a way that you're testing as much as you can on the ground... move to it and steadfastly hold... to our mission.”
      — Dave Limp, 08:05

• On Jeff Bezos’s “Black Tortoise” Tweet

  • The internal symbolism (slow, methodical, but ferocious progress) is contrasted with public interpretation as a dig at SpaceX (tortoise and hare analogy).
    • “It makes for good headlines that SpaceX doesn't have to lose for Blue to succeed... The US needs two SpaceX's, it needs two launch companies that are competing vigorously...”
      — Dave Limp, 09:22

• On Competition and Contracts

  • There’s healthy respect but honest rivalry: “If asked, we will step up and we will move heaven and earth to get to the moon first.”
    — Dave Limp, 10:58

6. Long-term Vision: Resources, Bases, and Industry

• Moon’s Strategic Real Estate

  • Blue Origin targets “eternal peaks of light” near lunar poles for bases—perpetual sunlight, proximity to water.

    • “There are a few of those places... next to these eternal peaks of light so you can get power from solar panels and... harvest the water.”
      — Dave Limp, 11:33

  • First phase is “permanence”—habitats and refueling to enable return trips, broader exploration, and eventual industry.

  • The moon can act as a manufacturing hub or even host data centers, creating off-planet industry to preserve Earth.

    • “Build data centers there. You can build whole colonies there. You can mine the moon... build manufacturing, build data inference in space.”
      — Dave Limp, 12:41

7. Purpose of Lunar Exploration: National and Global Imperatives

• Why Go to Space?

  • Host voices a common critique: Shouldn’t we focus on Earth’s issues first?
    • Limp responds, “What you’re describing is actually making Earth better by going to space and using all those resources.”
      — Host, 13:17

• Security and Strategic High Ground

  • Limp warns of rivals investing more aggressively than the US in space.

  • He quotes Sun Tzu, declaring, “High ground matters... Space is the new high ground. And if we do not think about space as a domain that we have mobility in... then our adversaries could take that high ground.”
    — Dave Limp, 14:19

  • He underscores space as a domain critical for both civilian and military purposes, positioning Blue Origin as an enabler for both.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Lunar Opportunity:

  • “The moon... it’s a cheat code in the game that we’re living in. It's literally three days away... it has water. And we would be crazy as a nation not to figure out how to use that as a stepping stone to the rest of the solar system and beyond.” — Dave Limp, 02:15–02:50

• On US Manufacturing:

  • “Building a prototype or one or ten of something is easy. Building the machine that makes hundreds... tens of millions... that is hard.” — Dave Limp, 04:26

• On Strategic Competition:

  • “SpaceX doesn’t have to lose for Blue to succeed... The US needs two SpaceX's, it needs two launch companies that are competing vigorously... our adversaries aren’t standing still.” — Dave Limp, 09:22

• On the Long Game:

  • “What we want to do is preserve this planet and move heavy industry off of this planet so that we can support, double, triple, quadruple the population on this planet.” — Dave Limp, 09:08

• On Space as the ‘High Ground’:

  • “High ground matters. And... space is the new high ground. And if we do not think about space as a domain that we have mobility in, that we have awareness in, then our adversaries could take that high ground.” — Dave Limp, 14:19

• Swag Moment:

  • Limp gifts a “Gradatim Ferociter” T-shirt to the host, noting it's “the first one off the presses” (07:49–08:05).

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |---------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:45 | Blue Origin’s rationale for pausing New Shepard | | 02:00 | “Space race” context and “Lunar Permanence” explanation | | 03:16 | Reflections on US aerospace supply chains and manufacturing | | 05:24 | Mk1 lunar lander development, testing, and mission goals | | 06:37 | Technical path from cargo lander to human lander | | 07:49 | “Gradatim Ferociter” motto and T-shirt moment | | 09:08 | Justification for off-planet industry and space competition | | 11:27 | Details on lunar base location strategy and resources | | 13:17 | Justifying lunar focus while addressing Earth's pressing issues| | 14:19 | “Space as the new high ground” and security implications |

Tone and Language

Dave Limp’s tone throughout is practical, candid, and occasionally visionary—with humor and open competitive spirit toward industry rivals. The host balances healthy skepticism (especially regarding space priorities) with engaged, probing questions that bring out detailed, thoughtful responses from Limp.

This summary covers all major content sections and topics, highlights standout moments, and offers clear context for listeners new to the episode or the lunar exploration conversation.