The FAA said in September it would review safety concerns
raised by former Blue Origin employees. The FAA said on Friday it was closing
its investigation after finding "no specific safety issues" and was
taking no action against billionaire Jeff Bezos' space company.
Alexandra Abrams, former head of Blue Origin Employee
Communications, and 20 other unnamed Blue Origin employees and former
employees, said in an essay they had "seen a pattern of decision-making
that often prioritises execution speed and cost reduction over the appropriate
resourcing to ensure quality."
A Blue Origin spokesperson did not immediately comment
Friday but said in September Abrams "was dismissed for cause two years ago
after repeated warnings for issues involving federal export control
regulations."
Abrams told CBS News, which first reported the allegations,
she never received any warnings related to export control issues.
In July, Bezos soared some 66.5 miles (107 km) above the
Texas desert aboard a New Shepard launch vehicle in a suborbital flight.
Blue Origin said in September it stood "by our safety
record and believe that New Shepard is the safest space vehicle ever designed
or built."
The essay said a 2018 team at Blue Origin "documented
more than 1,000 problem reports related to the engines that power Blue Origin's
rockets, which had never been addressed." © Reuters
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