Space is hard. Apparently, branding is harder. When Jeff Bezos stepped out of that capsule in the West Texas desert back in 2021, sporting a cowboy hat and a grin that launched a thousand screenshots, he wasn't just completing a suborbital flight. He was handing the internet a golden ticket to the meme factory. People love a good space race, but honestly, they love a billionaire blunder even more. The sheer volume of Blue Origin memes that flooded social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit wasn't just noise; it was a cultural shift in how we view private space exploration.
It’s weird.
You have these engineers, some of the smartest people on the planet, working on liquid hydrogen engines and vertical landing systems. Then, the New Shepard rocket clears the pad, and the only thing anyone can talk about is that the rocket looks like... well, you know. The "phallic rocket" jokes became a baseline for internet humor for months. It didn't matter how many successful uncrewed tests happened before that. Once the public saw the shape, the branding was cemented in the hall of meme fame.
Why the New Shepard Design Became an Instant Classic
Let’s be real for a second. The design of the New Shepard rocket is functional. It’s a single-stage, suborbital vehicle designed for vertical takeoff and landing. The bulbous top is specifically engineered to maximize the interior volume for the six passengers inside. From an engineering standpoint, it makes total sense. From an aesthetic standpoint? It’s a comedy writer’s dream.
The internet is ruthless.
Memes comparing the rocket to everything from Austin Powers props to "adult toys" weren't just low-hanging fruit—they were the entire tree. This wasn't just about the shape, though. It was about the contrast. On one side, you had Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which was leaning into this sleek, futuristic, almost sci-fi aesthetic with the Dragon capsule. On the other, Blue Origin felt a bit more, shall we say, literal. The memes highlighted a disconnect between the high-minded goal of "millions of people living and working in space" and the visual reality of a billionaire’s hobby horse.
The Cowboy Hat Heard 'Round the World
The flight itself was a technical success, but the "post-game" was where the real Blue Origin memes lived. Jeff Bezos stepped out of the RSS First Step capsule wearing a custom flight suit and a cowboy hat. It was a choice. A very specific, very memeable choice.
Social media exploded.
Critics and fans alike pointed out the "space cowboy" vibe, but it often came across as slightly disconnected from the average person's reality. While Bezos was thanking Amazon employees and customers for "paying for this," the internet was busy Photoshopping him into Toy Story or western film posters. This moment captured the essence of the modern billionaire space race: a mix of genuine technological achievement and a level of personal branding that feels almost alien to the general public.
The Lawsuits and the "Step-by-Step" Memes
Blue Origin’s motto is Gradatim Ferociter, which translates to "Step by Step, Ferociously." It sounds cool. It looks great on a coat of arms. However, when Blue Origin started filing lawsuits against NASA over the Human Landing System (HLS) contract awarded to SpaceX, the internet turned that motto against them.
"Step by step, ferociously... to court," became a common refrain in space enthusiast circles.
- The protest filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
- The subsequent lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
- The infographics Blue Origin released criticizing SpaceX’s Starship as "immensely complex and high risk."
That last one backfired spectacularly. Blue Origin released an infographic that was essentially a hit piece on the Starship architecture. They called it "complex" because it required multiple refilling launches in orbit. SpaceX fans and meme-makers immediately flipped the script, creating parodies that mocked Blue Origin for not having a rocket in orbit yet. It’s a harsh reality in the space community: if you haven't reached orbit, your critiques of orbital mechanics carry less weight with the "New Space" crowd.
Comparison is the Thief of Joy (and PR)
The rivalry between Bezos and Musk is the engine that drives most Blue Origin memes. It’s a classic trope. Two of the richest men on Earth fighting over the moon. Musk, who is famously online, often tweets memes himself, which only fans the flames. When Blue Origin lost the HLS contract, Musk responded with a meme that essentially told Bezos he couldn't "sue his way to the moon."
Whether you like Musk or not, his ability to weaponize meme culture gave SpaceX a "cool factor" that Blue Origin struggled to replicate. Blue Origin felt corporate, buttoned-up, and litigious. SpaceX felt like a chaotic startup that happened to be building the world's largest rocket. The memes reflected this lopsided public perception.
The "Welcome to the Club" Moment
Remember when SpaceX landed its first Falcon 9 booster back in 2015? Jeff Bezos tweeted, "Welcome to the club." It was a subtle dig, implying that Blue Origin had already done it with New Shepard. The problem? New Shepard is a suborbital rocket. Falcon 9 is an orbital-class booster.
The distinction is massive.
Going up and coming back down is hard. Going up, hitting 17,500 mph to reach orbit, and then coming back down is an entirely different league of physics. The space community never forgot that tweet. To this day, whenever Blue Origin hits a milestone, you’ll find "Welcome to the club" memes in the comments, usually pointing out how far behind they are in the orbital race compared to SpaceX or even Rocket Lab.
👉 See also: Google Drive app for Mac desktop: How to fix the sync issues that drive everyone crazy
It’s a bit of a "David vs. Goliath" situation, except both Davids and Goliaths are multi-billion dollar entities.
Moving Beyond the Jokes: New Glenn and the Future
Despite the memes, Blue Origin is a powerhouse. They have thousands of employees. They are building the BE-4 engines that power the ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket. They are working on New Glenn, a massive orbital rocket that is supposed to dwarf most of its competition.
But the memes persist because New Glenn has faced years of delays.
In the world of tech and space, "hardware is hard," but "paper rockets" are easy to mock. Until New Glenn is standing on the pad at LC-36 and actually igniting those seven BE-4 engines, the "where are the engines, Jeff?" memes will continue. It's the burden of high expectations. When you promise the future, people get impatient when the present feels like a series of press releases and court filings.
Honestly, the best way for Blue Origin to kill the memes is to fly.
The successful launch of the Vulcan rocket, using Blue Origin engines, was a huge step in the right direction. It proved the hardware works. It silenced some of the "vaporware" critics. But the internet has a long memory. The image of the "space cowboy" is burned into the collective consciousness.
The Cultural Impact of Billionaire Space Memes
Why do we care so much? Why do Blue Origin memes rank so high in search and engagement? It's because these memes are a form of digital protest. They are a way for regular people to process the fact that while most of us are worried about rent or gas prices, a few individuals are spending billions to leave the planet.
- Humor levels the playing field.
- It deconstructs the "god-like" status of tech founders.
- It highlights the absurdity of 21st-century wealth.
When people share a meme of the New Shepard looking like a Dr. Evil rocket, they aren't just laughing at the shape. They are laughing at the ego involved in the project. It’s a way to keep the "New Space" industry grounded, even as they aim for the stars.
Actionable Insights for Following the Space Race
If you want to keep up with the actual progress of Blue Origin without getting lost in the meme sauce, you have to look at the hardware. Ignore the Twitter feuds for a second and check the manifest.
Watch the BE-4 production. This is the heart of Blue Origin's business right now. Without these engines, both Blue Origin and ULA are stuck. Following the delivery of these engines to Cape Canaveral is a much better indicator of success than any press release.
Monitor the New Glenn path to flight. The massive fairings for New Glenn have already been spotted. The launch tower is a behemoth. Look for "pathfinder" operations where they roll a dummy version of the rocket to the pad. That’s when you know things are getting serious.
Understand the Lunar Gateway and Blue Moon. Blue Origin actually won a secondary contract for a lunar lander (Blue Moon) for the Artemis V mission. This is a big deal. It means NASA trusts them to provide a redundant system to SpaceX. It’s less memeable than a cowboy hat, but it’s the work that actually gets us to the moon.
Follow independent space journalists. People like Eric Berger (Ars Technica) or the team at NASASpaceFlight provide deep-dive technical coverage that cuts through the billionaire PR wars. They’ll tell you when a delay is a normal engineering hurdle and when it’s a sign of deeper management issues.
The memes aren't going anywhere. As long as there are rockets that look funny and billionaires with big hats, the internet will stay fed. But behind the jokes, there is a real, high-stakes attempt to change how humanity accesses the solar system. You can laugh at the meme and still respect the engineering—it’s probably the healthiest way to watch the 2020s space race unfold.
Blue Origin is currently in a "show me" phase. They’ve had the suborbital wins, they’ve had the legal battles, and they’ve definitely had the memes. Now, the world is waiting for orbit. Once New Glenn clears the tower, the conversation will shift. Until then, keep the Photoshop apps open. The internet isn't done with the space cowboys just yet.