Blue Origin delays New Glenn’s return to flight until January

Blue Origin has pushed New Glenn’s return to flight to January 2027, CEO Dave Limp told staff, Bloomberg reports. The rocket has been grounded since it exploded on its only launch pad in May, delaying Amazon Leo satellites and NASA’s Moon plans.

Blue Origin has pushed back the return of its New Glenn rocket to January, chief executive Dave Limp told staff on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported. The company had pledged to fly again before the end of 2026, after the rocket exploded on its pad in May.

“This small adjustment doesn’t diminish what we’ve accomplished or the importance of the work still ahead,” Limp wrote in a memo seen by Bloomberg. “Returning New Glenn to flight remains our top priority.”

The Financial Times first reported the delay. Blue Origin declined to comment.

New Glenn blew up during an engine test on 28 May, destroying the rocket and badly damaging Blue Origin’s only New Glenn pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The company has spent six months rebuilding it, and Limp said bad summer weather slowed the work. In June, Blue Origin said it had not found the cause yet.

The delay hurts Amazon, Jeff Bezos’ other company. New Glenn was due to carry 48 Amazon Leo internet satellites on its next flight, and the FCC has already cut Amazon’s spectrum priority for satellites launched late.

It also matters for NASA. New Glenn is meant to launch Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander, which NASA plans to use to land astronauts on the Moon under its Artemis programme.

The rocket is years behind schedule and has flown only three times since January 2025, leaving SpaceX far ahead. In July, Blue Origin was reported to be taking outside money for the first time, at a $130B valuation.