- Civilian astronaut Chris Sembrowski said he joined Jeff Bezos’ rocket maker Blue Origin.
- The move follows his three-day orbital trip with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in September.
- SpaceX and Blue Origin are major competitors in the commercial space industry.
A civilian astronaut launched on a SpaceX rocket last year joined rival aerospace company Blue Origin as an avionics engineer.
Chris Sembroski, a former Lockheed Martin employee and Air Force veteran, Twitter On Monday, he now works at Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ rocket maker.
Sembrowski LinkedIn profile Said he is now an avionics engineer in Kent, Washington.
“I’m excited to be a part of our expansion to the rest of the universe – and to announce that I’m joining Blue Origin! Let’s go!” he wrote in his Twitter post.
Sembroski was one of four civilian astronauts on the Inspiration4 mission that took off Sept. 16, sending them into orbit on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft for three days. They flew 367 miles (590 kilometers) above Earth.
Billionaire Jared Isaacman chartered the flight from SpaceX and ceded three other seats to Sembrowski; geoscientist Dr. Sian Proctor; and Hayley Arceneaux, physician assistant and childhood cancer survivor .
According to his LinkedIn profile, Sembroski’s last job lasted from April to July as a senior analytics engineer at DB Engineering.
Sembroski did not disclose any details about what Blue Origin’s new position will involve. He did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on the job update.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin famous for their rivalry as the two billionaires’ heads collide over 15 years.
Last year, Blue Origin sued NASA over the agency’s decision to award a lunar landing contract to SpaceX. That has heightened tensions, with Musk saying Bezos’ “full-time job” is suing SpaceX. The two billionaires are openly sarcastic and bickering about their space ambitions.
