Hegseth Praises Blue Origin’s Work During Cape Canaveral Visit

War Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Blue Origin’s facilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 2, praising the company’s work as an essential part of ensuring America retains its supremacy in outer space.

His latest stop on his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour landed him in the buildings that are developing and building the reusable New Glenn heavy-lift rocket and the Blue Moon lunar lander. He also met with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who gave him a close look at the Space Launch System moon rocket destined to send humans around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

“Your work here, along with his, will help President Trump accomplish the national security policy objectives at record pace, including critical projects like Artemis,” the Secretary said to Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos and the company’s employees.

Smiling, he responded to someone in the crowd and said, “You’re exactly right. We’re going to make space great again.”

Blue Origin was one of three key spacefaring companies that have secured launch contracts with the federal government, along with SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. Its assignments include delivering lunar landing craft for cargo and crew missions to NASA, as well as launching Space Force assets into orbit, including cutting-edge space-based capabilities such as President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative.

“We’re talking about a vigilant constellation of next-generation sensors and satellites that will see every threat from every corner of the globe, paired with a network of space-based interceptors ready to neutralize any ballistic missile, any hypersonic weapon, any drone, long before it threatens our homeland,” he said. “The kind of protection President Trump has promised the American people, and the War Department will deliver.”

“That is how we establish total orbital supremacy,” he said. “That is how we guarantee the safety and security of the American people.”

The war secretary praised the Cape Canaveral facility as producing “some of the most sophisticated manufacturing the world has ever seen and that can only be done at scale in the United States.” He also stressed the need to pull back the bureaucracy and prioritize competition and deliverable results within space-focused industries and beyond.

Hegseth told Blue Origin that his department was ready to support the company to ensure that America keeps building rockets, engines, and landers at speed and scale to meet the needs of the American homefront and its warfighters, as well as maintain an environment that allows wealth and innovation to grow organically and exponentially.

“We will unleash our companies, unleash industry, unleash the competitive spirit that allows America to come out on top,” he said. “When we compete, we win. When we innovate, we win. When we confront the status quo, we win.”