Blue Origin's next New Glenn launch has slipped to January 2027, according to Reuters sources. The company had been targeting a return to flight by the end of 2026 after a May 2026 static-fire test anomaly destroyed the NG-4 New Glenn rocket and damaged Launch Complex 36A. Blue Origin is also building a second pad, LC-36B, for the larger New Glenn 9x4 variant.
Repairs to LC-36A after the May anomaly have taken longer than expected. Blue Origin had previously planned as many as 8–12 New Glenn launches in 2026, but the explosion cut that to a hoped-for single launch. The company is rebuilding and expanding the Florida site while trying to return New Glenn to flight.
Launch Complex 36A was built by the U.S. government in the early 1960s for the Atlas-Centaur program, with its first launch in May 1962. It was later decommissioned, leased to Blue Origin in 2015, rebuilt for New Glenn, and hosted New Glenn's first launch in January 2025.
Reuters reported, citing sources, that Blue Origin has pushed the next New Glenn launch to January — meaning January 2027 — after earlier targeting a return to flight by the end of 2026.
Same Reuters reporting as above: Blue Origin's next New Glenn launch has slipped to January 2027, according to sources.
Reuters World carried the same report: Blue Origin has delayed the next New Glenn launch to January 2027, sources said.
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Ars Technica reports
MBlue Origin's next New Glenn launch is now set for January 2027, and the pad behind it has a sixty-year story.
CReuters says the delay comes after that May static-fire anomaly wrecked the rocket and damaged Launch Complex 36A.
MA historic launch site, rebuilt, then blown up, now delayed again.
C"Blown up" is dramatic. It was a test anomaly that destroyed the NG-4 rocket.
MThe result is the same: no launch, a damaged pad, and a missed deadline.
CNo, no— the deadline was a hope, not a contract. Blue Origin's leadership talked about getting back to flight before the end of 2026.
MThey had talked about a much busier New Glenn launch cadence in 2026. Then the anomaly cut that to one hoped-for flight.
CAnd now that one slips into 2027. That's not a few weeks.
MThat's a collapsed year.
CThe rocket exploded on the pad during a static fire! You don't just swap the booster and go.
MThey have to repair the flame trench, the ground systems, everything.
CAnd they are. They're also building a second pad, LC-36B, for a larger variant.
MBuilding a second pad while the first one is still broken doesn't make me more confident.
CIt means they're expanding capacity for a rocket that's supposed to fly a lot.
MThe first New Glenn finally launched in January 2025. That was a long wait for a single launch.
CThe May failure was the setback. It happened on a test stand.
MTests are supposed to find problems before you promise a return to flight.
CThey promised late 2026. Space.com's Josh Dinner reported in August they were "confident."
MNow Reuters sources say January. Somebody was wrong.
C"Confident" is not a guarantee. Repairs took longer.
MIt's a planning failure. When you keep missing dates, investors and customers notice.
CI'll admit the schedule slipped. I won't pretend the whole program is broken.
MSpeaking of historic— Mission Status posted a thread on X about Launch Complex 36A.
CBuilt by the U.S. government in the early sixties for Atlas-Centaur, first launch in May 1962.
MThen decommissioned, leased to Blue Origin in 2015, rebuilt for New Glenn.
CSo a sixty-year-old government pad, a private company rebuilding it, a second pad coming.
MAnd one payload delivered in two years.
CWhy did Blue Origin talk about flying again before the end of 2026 if pad repairs were that bad?
MBecause he expected repairs to be finished. Josh Dinner's August report said they were confident.
MConfidence without a launch is just a press release. You're defending the exact mismatch I'm criticizing.
CNo, I'm defending the fact that a damaged launch pad takes time to fix.
MI want them to stop telling me dates they can't hit. January 2027 is the new target.
CIf it slips to March, then it slips. You don't rush a rocket onto a cracked pad.
MSo the answer is just "trust the process"? That's not enough for a company meant to compete with SpaceX.
CThe process gave us a successful first launch and a reusable booster concept.
MOne successful launch, one destroyed rocket, no second flight. I can do the math.
CYou can't count a test anomaly as a flight lost. It didn't get off the ground.
MBut the test was part of getting ready for that second flight. The second flight is now January.
CAnd when it flies, you'll say it was too late. I'll say it was late but right.
MI'll say it was late and Blue Origin has a credibility problem on schedule. That's fair.
CFine. I'll grant the schedule was too optimistic. But the engineering is sound.
M"Will be ready" is doing a lot of work. Let's check back in January.
CIf it's January. If it's March, you get to say "I told you so."
MI won't need to. Reuters already said it.
CReuters cited sources. No official word from Blue Origin yet.
MThe company hasn't publicly confirmed the slip. But three Reuters accounts posted the same reporting.
CIt's one report, repeated. Maybe they're right, maybe there's still a chance before 2027.
MA chance? Blue Origin talked up a return before the end of 2026, and now you're hoping for a surprise.
CNo, I'm saying reports based on unnamed sources should be treated as a claim, not a fact.
MFair. We'll hold the date loosely until Blue Origin speaks.
CSo we wait for official word. And until then, Launch Complex 36A keeps getting ready for a rocket that's already made history once.
MHistory and delays. That's Blue Origin's current brand.
CYou can't reduce the entire company to one slipped date.
MI'm not. I'm reducing it to the slipped dates: one launch in 2025, none in 2026, maybe one in 2027.
CThat's the record. I can't spin it.
MBut you still think the platform has potential.
CPotential is what people said in 2015 when they leased the pad.
MAnd now the pad is rebuilt, a second pad is coming, and the rocket is on the stand. That's progress.
CProgress with a New Year's target. We'll see.