{"id":230796,"date":"2026-04-14T05:20:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/230796\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T05:20:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:20:21","slug":"blue-origins-next-new-glenn-launch-could-come-friday-morning-orlando-sentinel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/230796\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Origin\u2019s next New Glenn launch could come Friday morning \u2013 Orlando Sentinel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blue Origin is pushing forward with plans to launch its third-ever New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with a liftoff that could come as early as Friday morning.<\/p>\n

The Federal Aviation Administration added a primary launch window to its operation plan advisory on Monday, listing Blue Origin\u2019s NG-3 Bluebird 7 mission on its manifest for Friday during a launch window from 6:45 a.m. to 12:19 p.m. from Canaveral\u2019s Launch Complex 36. A backup date is listed during the same window on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Jeff Bezos\u2019 heavy-lift rocket, which is manufactured at nearby Merritt Island, had two successful launches in 2025. This third mission looks to reuse the booster named \u201cNever Tell Me the Odds,\u201d named after a famous Han Solo line from \u201cEmpire Strikes Back.\u201d The booster was flown and recovered on the company\u2019s vessel Jacklyn last November. The company\u2019s first booster was not recovered.<\/p>\n

Blue Origin is pushing through with the launch despite damage done to one of its testing facilities<\/a> in Merritt Island last week. A tower know as the 2CAT where the New Glenn\u2019s second stage gets pressure testing and cleaning had visible roof damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring a routine test at our 2CAT facility in Florida, we experienced an anomaly during test execution,\u201d according to a Blue Origin spokesperson. \u201cThere were no injuries, and safety protocols were in place at the time of the test. There is no impact to ongoing production operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hardware for NG-3 was not affected, and whatever caused the upper stage issue was not enough to halt the company moving forward with the upcoming launch attempt.<\/p>\n

BlueBird is on board! @AST_SpaceMobile<\/a>‘s satellite is now integrated with our NG-3 launch vehicle. Next up: rollout for hotfire. pic.twitter.com\/W491HLc7il<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

On Friday, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp posted a photo on X of the NG-3 rocket with the payload installed within the fairing, or nosecone, of the rocket.<\/p>\n

The company on Sunday also posted the rocket rolling out to the pad for a hot fire test, and a video on Monday showing it being raised to an upright position at LC-36.<\/p>\n

Welcome back to LC-36, “Never Tell Me The Odds.” <\/p>\n

Next up: NG-3 hotfire \ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/taYP2cLn8q<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The payload for the flight is another of Midland, Texas-based AST SpaceMobile\u2019s next-generation BlueBird satellites headed to to low-Earth orbit.<\/p>\n

The first of was launched from India in late 2025. The satellites, which have 2,400 square feet of arrays, aim to deliver high-speed cellular broadband direct to smartphones. The company\u2019s previous BlueBird satellites had only 693 square feet, so the new versions are touted by the company as the \u201clargest commercial phased arrays ever deployed in low Earth orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Booster 3 almost done\u2026 “No, It’s Necessary” Welcome to the fleet. pic.twitter.com\/oTkAFMdrTe<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dave Limp (@davill) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Blue Origin has several other launches coming up, and revealed its third New Glenn first stage named \u201cNo, It\u2019s Necessary,\u201d a reference to a line spoken by Matthew McConaughey\u2019s character in the 2014 film \u201cInterstellar.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first booster, which successfully launched on NG-1 in January 2025, was named \u201cSo You\u2019re Telling Me There\u2019s a Chance,\u201d a reference to the 1994 film \u201cDumb and Dumber.\u201d The attempt to land it on Blue Origin\u2019s recovery vessel in the Atlantic, though, was not successful.<\/p>\n

One of Blue Origin\u2019s upcoming launches will be moonbound, with an uncrewed lunar lander called the MK1 Blue Moon which recently completed testing at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center and is headed back to Florida.<\/p>\n

NASA is relying on Blue Origin to develop a crewed lunar lander alongside the Starship spacecraft being developed by SpaceX.<\/p>\n

NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said the agency is doing its part to help the two commercial providers hit deadlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a massive test campaign. We\u2019ve got a huge test coming up of the Blue Origin MK1 lander, which will be the kind of smaller version of the lander they want to use to attempt the landing missions,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a test flight of that this year. We also have the test of the Block 3 Starship and Super Heavy, which is going up hopefully in a few weeks here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whichever one is ready first will get the chance to be the lander used on the Artemis IV mission as soon as 2028. Before that, though, one or both of the landers in development will need to fly and hook up with NASA\u2019s Orion spacecraft during the low-Earth orbit rendezvous mission planned for mid-2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery every day in this program, we\u2019re going to be testing big machines, and we\u2019re just going to keep getting side-by-side with them to help them make progress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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