Launch
Blue Origin
Jeff Bezos's space company, builder of New Glenn and the Blue Moon landers; New Glenn has been grounded since a 28 May 2026 pad explosion and New Shepard is paused.
Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P. was founded on 8 September 2000 by Jeff Bezos and is headquartered in Kent, Washington. Dave Limp, named chief executive in September 2023, succeeded Bob Smith. Bezos pays for the company himself: by 2017 he was selling about $1 billion of Amazon stock a year to fund it. On 13 February 2025 Blue Origin cut about 10 percent of a workforce of almost 14,000, a decision Limp attributed to bureaucracy and less focus than the company needed after years of fast hiring.
New Shepard, the reusable suborbital vehicle that carries paying passengers and research payloads, first flew on 29 April 2015, when the capsule landed safely but the booster crash-landed after a hydraulic failure. Bezos was aboard the first crewed mission on 20 July 2021 with Mark Bezos, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen. The uncrewed NS-23 flight failed on 12 September 2022 when a thermal-structural failure of the BE-3PM engine nozzle triggered the escape system; the capsule came down safely and the booster was lost. Blue Origin flew NS-38 on 22 January 2026, the 38th New Shepard mission, and then paused the programme for at least two years to move resources onto lunar landers.
New Glenn is the orbital rocket: 98 m tall in the 7x2 configuration, seven BE-4 methane engines on a reusable first stage, two BE-3U hydrogen engines above, and 45,000 kg of payload to low Earth orbit. It reached orbit on its first flight on 16 January 2025 with the Blue Ring Pathfinder, though the booster was lost, and on 13 November 2025 it sent NASA's ESCAPADE spacecraft toward Mars and landed the booster on the vessel Jacklyn. On 19 April 2026 the NG-3 mission reused and recovered that booster, but one BE-3U engine did not produce enough thrust on the second upper-stage burn, leaving AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite in an orbit too low to sustain operations; it is to be de-orbited, and the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the rocket. On 28 May 2026 a first stage exploded during a static fire at Launch Complex 36, destroying both stages and severely damaging the company's only orbital launch site.
Blue Origin said on 6 August 2026 that the anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines, that valve modifications can be retrofitted to engines already built, and that it was aiming to fly New Glenn again before the end of the year; United Launch Alliance is applying the same change to the BE-4 engines on its Vulcan rocket. On 14 August 2026 the company began building Launch Complex 36B for the larger New Glenn 9x4, with the damaged pad redesignated 36A. The lunar programme those resources were moved to is still ahead of its first flight. The uncrewed MK1-101 Endurance lander is booked on New Glenn for Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1 to the lunar south pole no earlier than the first quarter of 2027, and NASA's restructured Artemis III, itself no earlier than 2027, will have Orion dock in low Earth orbit with a Blue Moon Mark 1.5 carrying a working life-support system, alongside a SpaceX Starship test article. The $3.4 billion Blue Moon contract NASA awarded on 19 May 2023 covers the crewed Artemis V landing.
What they build and operate
- New Glenn · Launch vehicle · Operational
Two-stage heavy-lift orbital rocket, 98 m tall in the 7x2 configuration, with seven reusable-stage BE-4 engines and 45,000 kg to low Earth orbit; it has flown three times since 16 January 2025 and is grounded after the May 2026 pad explosion.[3][4] - New Shepard · Launch vehicle
Reusable suborbital rocket, 19.2 m tall, flown for space tourism and research payloads; it made 38 missions through NS-38 on 22 January 2026, after which flights were paused for at least two years.[2][1] - BE-4 · Engine · Operational
Methane and oxygen engine of 2,400 kN thrust, used on New Glenn's first stage and supplied to United Launch Alliance for the Vulcan rocket.[1][11] - BE-3U · Engine · Operational
Hydrogen and oxygen upper-stage engine; two power New Glenn's second stage, and one underperformed on the second burn of the NG-3 mission in April 2026.[3][10] - Blue Moon MK1 · Spacecraft · In development
Uncrewed lunar lander; the MK1-101 Endurance vehicle is to fly Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1 to the lunar south pole on New Glenn, no earlier than the first quarter of 2027, carrying NASA's SCALPSS cameras.[5] - Blue Moon MK2 · Spacecraft · In development
Crewed lunar lander under a NASA contract awarded on 19 May 2023 and valued at $3.4 billion, covering the Artemis V crewed landing; it is about 52 feet tall and carries up to 22 tons of cargo.[1][13] - Blue Ring · Platform · In development
Orbital logistics and transfer platform announced in October 2023; a Blue Ring Pathfinder flew on New Glenn's first launch.[1][3] - Orbital Reef · Platform · In development
Commercial space station under development with Sierra Space and Boeing; a NASA award of $130 million was raised to $172 million in 2024.[1]
Funding
- 2017 · Founder funding through Amazon share sales
About $1 billion a year — Jeff Bezos[1]
Milestones
- 08 September 2000
Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P.[1] - 29 April 2015
New Shepard reached 93.5 km on its first flight; the capsule landed safely but the booster crash-landed after a hydraulic failure.[2][1] - 23 November 2015
Landed and recovered a New Shepard booster for the first time.[1] - 20 July 2021
Flew the first crewed New Shepard mission, carrying Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen.[2] - 12 September 2022
The uncrewed NS-23 mission failed after a thermal-structural failure of the BE-3PM engine nozzle; the escape system fired, the capsule landed safely and the booster was lost.[2][1] - 19 May 2023
NASA awarded a Blue Moon lander contract valued at $3.4 billion for the Artemis V crewed landing.[1] - 16 January 2025
New Glenn reached orbit on its first flight carrying the Blue Ring Pathfinder, but the booster failed to land.[3] - 13 February 2025
Cut about 10 percent of a workforce of almost 14,000, which chief executive Dave Limp attributed to bureaucracy and lost focus.[7] - 13 November 2025
The NG-2 mission sent NASA's ESCAPADE spacecraft toward Mars and landed the New Glenn booster on the vessel Jacklyn, a first for the rocket.[3] - 22 January 2026
Flew NS-38, the 38th New Shepard mission, then paused the programme for at least two years to shift resources to lunar landers.[2][1] - 19 April 2026
NG-3 reused and recovered a New Glenn booster, but a BE-3U engine underperformed on the second upper-stage burn and left AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 in an orbit too low to sustain; the FAA grounded the rocket.[9][10][8] - 28 May 2026
A New Glenn first stage exploded during a static fire at Launch Complex 36, destroying both stages and severely damaging Blue Origin's only orbital launch site.[4] - 06 August 2026
Traced the explosion to the main oxygen valve on a BE-4 engine and said the company aimed to return New Glenn to flight before the end of 2026.[11][4] - 14 August 2026
Began building Launch Complex 36B at Cape Canaveral for the larger New Glenn 9x4, with the existing pad redesignated Launch Complex 36A.[12]
Facilities
- Blue Origin headquarters · Kent, Washington
Company headquarters and main engineering site.[1] - Launch Complex 36 · Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Blue Origin's only orbital launch site, severely damaged in the static fire explosion of 28 May 2026 and since redesignated Launch Complex 36A.[4][12] - Blue Engines factory · Huntsville, Alabama
Engine production plant of about 600,000 square feet.[1]
Leadership
Sources
WikipediaBlue Originen.wikipedia.org
WikipediaNew Sheparden.wikipedia.org
WikipediaNew Glennen.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia2026 New Glenn rocket explosionen.wikipedia.org
WikipediaBlue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1en.wikipedia.org
WikipediaArtemis IIIen.wikipedia.org
FOX BusinessBlue Origin to lay off about 10% of workforcefoxbusiness.com
Spaceflight NowThird flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket to feature 1st reuse of boosterspaceflightnow.com
Spaceflight NowBlue Origin launches third New Glenn rocket, but payload ends up in wrong orbitspaceflightnow.com
Via SatelliteNew Glenn Grounded and AST SpaceMobile Satellite Lost After Launch Anomalysatellitetoday.com
Spaceflight NowBlue Origin identifies engine issue behind New Glenn explosionspaceflightnow.com
Spectrum News 13Blue Origin begins construction of new launch padmynews13.com
Scientific AmericanNASA's next Artemis mission pits SpaceX against Blue Origin in a race to the moonscientificamerican.com
Coverage of Blue Origin
Commercial launch
FAA’s 4,288-operation high case is not a US launch count
The agency’s upper scenario covers commercial launches and re-entries through fiscal 2036, including US-licensed activity abroad. It still points to heavier work for licensing teams, busy ranges and shared airspace.
Launch infrastructure
Blue Origin outlines second LC-36 pad for New Glenn 9x4
LC-36B, new processing buildings and a hybrid integration flow would divide work between two pads. Neither 9x4’s debut nor the repaired LC-36A’s next launch has an exact date.
Update this profile
Work at Blue Origin or represent it? If something here is wrong or missing, email contact@spaceexploration.news with a public source for the change. Every profile edit is verified before it is published.
Request a profile change