Jeff Bezos welcomed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to Blue Origin’s Florida rocket factory on Monday, using the “Arsenal of Freedom” tour stop to tie the company’s lunar ambitions to the Trump administration’s emphasis on national security and American space leadership.

Hegseth Hails Arsenal Of Freedom Industry Collaboration

Hegseth posted on X after the visit, writing, “America’s best…building The Arsenal of Freedom. Thank you @JeffBezos!” Bezos replied, “Huge honor to have you at Blue Origin today. The whole team here was energized by your visit, and we’re excited to be doing our part to bring high-tech manufacturing back to America. Thank you!”

During a roundtable with engineers and veterans at the Cape Canaveral area facility, Hegseth praised Blue Origin’s role in recent Defense Department operations in President Donald Trump’s second term, saying its launch systems had been “crucial” for rapid-response space missions.

“You guys were under budget and ahead of schedule,” he said, arguing that speed is now as important as cost in defense manufacturing. He added that the United States must secure “American space dominance,” calling space “the ultimate high ground” that Washington “needs to dominate.”

Blue Origin Shifts Focus Toward Lunar Missions

The visit came just days after Blue Origin announced it would pause its New Shepard space-tourism flights for at least two years and “shift resources to further accelerate development of the company’s human lunar capabilities.”

“The decision reflects Blue Origin’s commitment to the nation’s goal of returning to the Moon and establishing a permanent, sustained lunar presence,” the company said in a press release on Friday.

Artemis Missions Highlight Stakes Of Space Leadership

Hegseth’s stop at Blue Origin followed a morning visit with NASA officials for the “wet dress rehearsal” of Artemis II, the first crewed mission around the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, now in final testing at Kennedy Space Center.

Photo Courtesy: Lev Radin on Shutterstock.com

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