SpaceTRC / Space Age / Blue Origin
Step by step, ferociously.
Blue Origin was founded in 2000 by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. It is a private company separate from Amazon, with the Latin motto “Gradatim Ferociter”: step by step, ferociously. Known for suborbital tourism, it now focuses on its heavy rocket New Glenn, rocket engines and the lunar lander it is building for NASA.
- Founded
- 2000Kent, Washington
- New Shepard flights
- 3817 crewed, 98 passengers
- New Glenn flights
- 32 booster landings
- BE-4 thrust
- 2,400 kNMethane + liquid oxygen
01 / Status board
2026: a hard year, big plans
New Shepard
Tourism flights were suspended for at least two years in January 2026 and resources moved to the lunar programme. The last flight, NS-38, flew on 22 January 2026.
New Glenn
On 28 May 2026 the rocket exploded during a static fire, heavily damaging LC-36, its only active pad. An August investigation traced the failure to a main oxygen valve on a BE-4 engine. Rebuilding could take more than a year.
New pads and ships
On 16 October 2026 the company announced new Florida launch pads, a manufacturing expansion and new landing barges to raise New Glenn’s flight rate.
Blue Moon
NASA awarded a 3.4-billion-dollar contract in 2023 for the Blue Moon lander on Artemis V, with a crewed landing planned for 2029. An uncrewed cargo version (MK1) flies first.
TeraWave
A communications network announced in January 2026: more than 5,000 low-orbit satellites plus 128 medium-orbit optical relays. In March 2026 the company also filed for an orbital data centre.
BE-4 engine
Two BE-4s power the first stage of ULA’s Vulcan, which announced a return to flight in mid-November carrying 40 Amazon Leo satellites.
02 / Timeline
Blue Origin’s path
- Company founded
Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin with the long-term goal of millions of people living and working in space.
- First rocket to reach space and land vertically
New Shepard’s booster crossed 100 km and landed upright in Texas, a month before Falcon 9’s first orbital-class landing.
- First crewed New Shepard flight
Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, 82-year-old aviator Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen flew.
- NS-23 anomaly
An engine failed on an uncrewed flight; the escape system saved the capsule. Flights resumed in December 2023.
- BE-4 flies on Vulcan
ULA’s new Vulcan rocket made its debut on Blue Origin engines.
- New Glenn reaches orbit
The heavy rocket reached orbit on its first flight; the booster was lost on landing.
- NASA’s ESCAPADE and first booster landing
New Glenn launched NASA’s twin Mars orbiters and landed its first stage at sea.
- New Shepard paused, TeraWave announced
Tourism flights were suspended; the same month the company unveiled its satellite network.
- First reflown New Glenn booster
The NG-2 booster flew again and landed, but an upper-stage engine underperformed and AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 was left in an unusable orbit.
- Static fire explosion
The rocket exploded during testing and LC-36 was heavily damaged. No payload was aboard.
- New pads and production plan
The company announced new Florida pads, landing ships and expanded manufacturing.
03 / Vehicles and engines
From New Shepard to Blue Moon
New Shepard
A fully autonomous, reusable rocket and capsule with six seats and large windows. The capsule lands under parachutes; the booster lands vertically on its engine.
- Height
- ≈18 m
- Engine
- 1 × BE-3PM
- Apogee
- ≈106 km
- Passengers
- 6
New Glenn
A 7-metre-wide heavy rocket with a reusable first stage and, the company says, one of the largest payload fairings in the world.
- Height
- 98 m
- Diameter
- 7 m
- Stage 1
- 7 × BE-4
- Stage 2
- 2 × BE-3U
- LEO payload
- ≈45 t
BE-4
An oxidiser-rich staged-combustion engine burning liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen. It powers New Glenn and ULA’s Vulcan, where it replaced the Russian RD-180.
- Thrust
- 2,400 kN
- Propellant
- LNG + LOX
Blue Moon
MK1 is an uncrewed pathfinder to deliver cargo to the Moon. A larger crewed version will land astronauts on NASA’s Artemis V mission.
- NASA contract
- $3.4 billion
- Crewed landing plan
- 2029
Blue Origin and Amazon are different companies. Both were founded by Jeff Bezos. Amazon’s space project is its satellite internet network, Amazon Leo, which launches on Blue Origin, ULA, Arianespace and SpaceX rockets.
04 / New Glenn
New Glenn flight record
| Flight | Date | Payload | Mission | Booster landing | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NG-1 | 16 Jan 2025 | Blue Ring Pathfinder | Success | Lost | Maiden flight reached orbit |
| NG-2 | 13 Nov 2025 | NASA ESCAPADE (Mars) | Success | Success | First booster landing |
| NG-3 | 19 Apr 2026 | BlueBird 7 (AST SpaceMobile) | Failure | Success | First reflown booster; upper stage underperformed |
| — | 28 May 2026 | Ground test (no payload) | Exploded during static fire | LC-36 heavily damaged | |
Source: Wikipedia, “List of New Glenn launches” and “Blue Origin”. The 15 pending missions have no firm dates while the pad is rebuilt.
05 / Videos
New Shepard’s last tourist flight
Embedded from Blue Origin’s official channel; loads when tapped.
Compare suborbital and orbital flight in Space tourism, or New Glenn with other rockets in Rocket comparison.