# Blue Origin
**Blue Origin** is a private American aerospace company founded in 2000 by Amazon founder [Jeff Bezos](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-bezos), headquartered in [Kent, Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/kent-washington), that develops reusable rockets and engines for suborbital tourism, orbital launch, and lunar landers. Its stated motto, *Gradatim Ferociter* ("Step-by-Step, Ferociously"), reflects an incremental development approach using suborbital tests to retire risk before moving to orbital vehicles.[1](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/111460.pdf) The company's two flying rockets are the fully reusable suborbital [New Shepard](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-shepard) and the heavy-lift orbital New Glenn, and it builds the BE-4 engine that powers both New Glenn and United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket.[2](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2000 by Jeff Bezos; privately funded; headquarters and vehicle manufacturing near Seattle, Washington, with flight testing in West Texas[1](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/111460.pdf) |
| New Shepard | Fully reusable suborbital rocket; first flight to space and booster landing November 23, 2015; first human flight July 20, 2021; 38 flights and 98 humans flown before a pause announced January 30, 2026[3](https://www.blueorigin.com/ar-EG/news/blue-origin-makes-historic-rocket-landing) • [4](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/first-human-flight-updates) • [5](https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/30/blue-origin-pauses-space-tourism-flights-to-focus-on-the-moon/) |
| New Glenn | 98 m (320 ft) orbital rocket with a reusable first stage; reached orbit on its first launch January 16, 2025; landed its booster on the second launch, November 13, 2025[6](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-glenn-ng-1-mission?trk=public_post_comment-text) • [7](https://www.csis.org/analysis/how-important-blue-origins-second-new-glenn-launch) |
| Payload capacity | More than 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit and more than 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit; seven-meter fairing with twice the volume of five-meter class fairings[2](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block) |
| BE-4 engine | Oxygen-rich staged combustion of liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas, 550,000 lbf of thrust; two per booster power ULA's Vulcan first stage[8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyn2gOimRfM) • [9](https://www.ulalaunch.com/rockets/vulcan-centaur) |
| NASA contracts | $3.4 billion firm-fixed-price award (May 2023) as the second Artemis human lunar lander provider for Artemis V; Blue Moon Mark 1 cargo lander missions under NASA's Moon Base initiative[10](https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/nasa-selects-blue-origin-as-second-artemis-lunar-lander-provider/) • [11](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-provides-update-on-moon-base-rovers-landers-missions/) |
| Launch license | FAA vehicle operator license authorizes up to 12 New Glenn launches per year at Space Launch Complex 36, Cape Canaveral; a Draft Environmental Assessment proposes raising the cap to 50 per year[12](https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholderengagement/blue-origin-new-glenn) |
## New Shepard and suborbital flight
New Shepard, named after astronaut [Alan Shepard](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-shepard), the first American in space, is a fully reusable vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing suborbital rocket built for human flight from the beginning. During the 11-minute journey the crew capsule passes the [Kármán line](https://www.edgepedia.org/karman-line) at 100 km (62 miles), giving passengers several minutes of weightlessness; the vehicle is fully autonomous, with no pilots.[13](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard) On November 23, 2015, the vehicle flew to 329,839 feet (100.5 km) and landed its booster back at the [West Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-texas) launch site, a first for a reusable rocket returning from space.[3](https://www.blueorigin.com/ar-EG/news/blue-origin-makes-historic-rocket-landing)
**Human spaceflight.** The first crewed flight on July 20, 2021 carried Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, the aviator [Wally Funk](https://www.edgepedia.org/wally-funk), and Oliver Daemen past the Kármán line; Funk, at 82, became the oldest person to fly in space, and Daemen, at 18, the youngest.[4](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/first-human-flight-updates) Nearly 99 percent of New Shepard's dry mass is reused, and its BE-3PM engine burns liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, producing only water vapor during flight.[13](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard) The program flew 38 missions carrying 98 humans before Blue Origin announced on January 30, 2026 that it would pause New Shepard flights for no less than two years to shift resources toward human lunar capabilities.[5](https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/30/blue-origin-pauses-space-tourism-flights-to-focus-on-the-moon/)
## New Glenn
[New Glenn](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-glenn), named after [John Glenn](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-glenn), the first American to orbit Earth, is a two-stage orbital rocket (with an optional third stage) more than 320 ft (98 m) tall, with a reusable first stage designed to land on a platform at sea in the [Atlantic Ocean](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-ocean).[2](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block) • [12](https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholderengagement/blue-origin-new-glenn) The first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines burning liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas; together they produce 3.85 million pounds of thrust, about half of what the Saturn 5 produced and just under the Falcon Heavy's 5 million pounds.[14](https://time.com/7207879/spacex-blue-origin-rocket-launches-good-news/) The hydrogen-fueled second stage uses two restartable BE-3U engines, each generating 200,000 lbf (890 kN) of vacuum thrust.[2](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block)
**Flight record.** The inaugural NG-1 mission lifted off on January 16, 2025, from Launch Complex 36 at [Cape Canaveral Space Force Station](https://www.edgepedia.org/cape-canaveral-space-force-station) and safely reached its intended orbit carrying the Blue Ring Pathfinder, but the booster was lost during descent.[6](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-glenn-ng-1-mission?trk=public_post_comment-text) The second launch, on November 13, 2025, deployed NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars spacecraft and landed the first stage on the landing platform vessel Jacklyn in the Atlantic Ocean, the company's first booster recovery.[7](https://www.csis.org/analysis/how-important-blue-origins-second-new-glenn-launch) • [15](https://apnews.com/article/4e3e6c380b8294b557618a6fea92282b) The third mission, NG-3, launched in April 2026 and became the first flight to reuse a booster, but one engine failed to produce enough thrust and dropped [AST SpaceMobile](https://www.edgepedia.org/ast-spacemobile)'s BlueBird satellite into an orbit too low to be useful.[16](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/11/bezos-musk-billionaire-space-race/688690/)
**The May 2026 explosion.** On May 28, 2026, a New Glenn rocket exploded during an integrated vehicle hotfire test at Launch Complex 36, destroying the lightning tower and the transporter-erector and sending shock waves across Florida; the Atlantic described it as the largest explosion in the history of [Cape Canaveral](https://www.edgepedia.org/cape-canaveral).[17](https://apnews.com/article/9d7ea73d581ba15d1fe0f9f6e948b663) • [16](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/11/bezos-musk-billionaire-space-race/688690/) Blue Origin reported that the methane, hydrogen, and oxygen tanks, the water tower, and a booster housed nearby survived, and CEO Dave Limp said the company would fly again before the end of 2026.[17](https://apnews.com/article/9d7ea73d581ba15d1fe0f9f6e948b663) By August 2026 the company had traced the anomaly to the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines and was manufacturing modified valves that could be retrofitted to existing engines.[18](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/gs1-3-hotfire-updates?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block) Rather than rebuilding the damaged pad configuration, Blue Origin moved to a horizontal/vertical hybrid integration concept and began constructing a second pad, LC-36B, to support the larger New Glenn 9x4 vehicle.[18](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/gs1-3-hotfire-updates?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block) • [19](https://www.blueorigin.com/news)
**Upgrades and the 9x4 variant.** In November 2025 Blue Origin announced upgrades phased in from NG-3, raising total first-stage thrust from 3.9 million lbf (17,219 kN) to 4.5 million lbf (19,928 kN) and upper-stage thrust from 320,000 lbf to 400,000 lbf, along with a reusable fairing and a reusable thermal protection system. New Glenn 9x4, the next vehicle planned in the roadmap and named for the nine engines mounted on each stage, is intended to lift more than 70 metric tons into low Earth orbit, more than 14 metric tons straight to geosynchronous orbit, and more than 20 metric tons onto a trans-lunar trajectory, while also sporting a bigger 8.7-meter fairing.[20](https://www.blueorigin.com/es-MX/news/new-glenn-upgraded-engines-subcooled-components-drive-enhanced-performance)
## Engines and the BE-4
The BE-4 is Blue Origin's fourth-generation liquid rocket engine, using oxygen-rich staged combustion of liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas to produce 550,000 lbf of thrust. [Liquefied natural gas](https://www.edgepedia.org/liquefied-natural-gas) leaves no soot byproducts, simplifying engine reuse, and supports autogenous pressurization, which eliminates the need for helium pressurization systems.[8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyn2gOimRfM) [United Launch Alliance](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-launch-alliance) selected the BE-4 to power the first stage of its Vulcan rocket, ending that vehicle's reliance on the Russian-made RD-180; two BE-4 engines provide Vulcan's booster propulsion.[8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyn2gOimRfM) • [9](https://www.ulalaunch.com/rockets/vulcan-centaur) BE-4 engines are manufactured at Blue Origin's facility in Huntsville, Alabama, with full-rate production also in Kent, Washington.[2](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block)
## NASA partnerships and the Moon
In May 2023 NASA selected Blue Origin as the second provider of a human landing system for the Artemis program, with a firm-fixed-price contract valued at $3.4 billion to demonstrate the Blue Moon lander on the Artemis V mission in 2029. For that mission, four astronauts will launch on the Space Launch System, and two will transfer to Blue Origin's lander for about a weeklong trip to the Moon's South Pole region.[10](https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/nasa-selects-blue-origin-as-second-artemis-lunar-lander-provider/) NASA's Office of Inspector General reported in March 2026 that Blue Origin's lander development has been delayed at least 8 months, that the critical design review is likely to slip to July 2026, and that the uncrewed demonstration mission, which will test cryogenic propellant transfer, is anticipated in February 2029; cryogenic fluid management is one of the program's most significant technical challenges.[21](https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/2026-03/IG-26-004.pdf)
**Blue Moon Mark 1.** The uncrewed cargo lander Blue Moon Mark 1, also known as Endurance, completed environmental testing in NASA Johnson Space Center's Thermal Vacuum Chamber A in May 2026. It will demonstrate precision landing, cryogenic propulsion, and autonomous guidance, navigation, and control, and will carry two NASA payloads to the lunar South Pole.[22](https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/blue-origin-moon-lander-completes-testing-at-nasa-vacuum-chamber/) Under NASA's Moon Base initiative, Blue Origin's Mark 1 lander is slated to deliver payloads to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge no earlier than fall 2026, and NASA awarded the company $188 million, with an option period worth $280.4 million, to deliver rovers to the Moon's South Pole region.[11](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-provides-update-on-moon-base-rovers-landers-missions/)
## National security and commercial launch
Through the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, Blue Origin is working with the U.S. Space Force to qualify New Glenn, and the NG-1 mission counted as that program's first certification flight.[6](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-glenn-ng-1-mission?trk=public_post_comment-text) On May 28, 2026, the Space Force awarded Blue Origin an NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 task order to launch a National Reconnaissance Office mission.[23](https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/Article-Display/Article/4504468/space-force-awards-blue-origin-task-order-to-launch-national-reconnaissance-mis) Commercial customers include Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper), AST SpaceMobile, and several telecommunications providers; the Spanish business daily Cinco Días reported a New Glenn order book of $10 billion in customer contracts.[6](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-glenn-ng-1-mission?trk=public_post_comment-text) • [24](https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2026-05-30/la-explosion-del-cohete-de-bezos-amenaza-la-euforia-de-la-industria-espacial-ante-la-salida-a-bolsa-de-spacex.html) The company has also announced TeraWave, a plan to launch 5,408 low-orbit satellites beginning in the fourth quarter of 2027 using New Glenn.[25](https://www.intro-act.com/uploads/allnewsletter/202602191041052054552644.pdf)
## Company trajectory
Blue Origin kept a low profile in its early years; Bezos based the company near Amazon's Seattle headquarters and its existence remained secret for three years until Newsweek discovered it, and for a time its sole employee was the science-fiction writer Neal Stephenson.[16](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/11/bezos-musk-billionaire-space-race/688690/) The company received $22 million in 2011 under NASA's Commercial Crew Development program to develop New Shepard's design and escape system.[26](https://www.space.com/19341-jeff-bezos.html)
**Restructuring.** In February 2025, weeks after New Glenn's debut, CEO Dave Limp announced company-wide layoffs of about 10 percent of the workforce, roughly 1,400 of nearly 14,000 employees, concentrated in Florida, Texas, and Washington, to cut costs and scale New Glenn manufacturing.[27](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/blue-origin-layoffs-bezos) Limp, who joined from Amazon's devices unit in late 2023, has pushed a faster cadence; as he put it before NG-3, the "step by step" component of the company motto would be fast-walked.[27](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/blue-origin-layoffs-bezos) • [16](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/11/bezos-musk-billionaire-space-race/688690/) Industry analysts see New Glenn as a potential counterweight to SpaceX's dominance in launch: SpaceX carried out 423 successful Falcon 9 launches before New Glenn's first orbital flight, and satellite operators want at least two launch options so that no single provider controls pricing.[14](https://time.com/7207879/spacex-blue-origin-rocket-launches-good-news/) • [28](https://www.kiplinger.com/business/the-space-sector-prepares-to-blast-off)
## References
1. [FAA/AST Commercial Space Transportation Compendium (2010), Blue Origin profile](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/111460.pdf)
2. [New Glenn, Blue Origin](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block)
3. [Blue Origin Makes Historic Rocket Landing, Blue Origin (November 23, 2015)](https://www.blueorigin.com/ar-EG/news/blue-origin-makes-historic-rocket-landing)
4. [Blue Origin safely launches four commercial astronauts to space and back, Blue Origin (July 20, 2021)](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/first-human-flight-updates)
5. [Blue Origin pauses space tourism flights to focus on the moon, TechCrunch (January 30, 2026)](https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/30/blue-origin-pauses-space-tourism-flights-to-focus-on-the-moon/)
6. [Blue Origin's New Glenn Reaches Orbit, Blue Origin (January 16, 2025)](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-glenn-ng-1-mission?trk=public_post_comment-text)
7. [How Important Is Blue Origin's Second New Glenn Launch?, CSIS](https://www.csis.org/analysis/how-important-blue-origins-second-new-glenn-launch)
8. [The BE-4 engine, Blue Origin (YouTube, 2018)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyn2gOimRfM)
9. [Vulcan Centaur, United Launch Alliance](https://www.ulalaunch.com/rockets/vulcan-centaur)
10. [NASA Selects Blue Origin as Second Artemis Lunar Lander Provider, NASA (May 2023)](https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/nasa-selects-blue-origin-as-second-artemis-lunar-lander-provider/)
11. [NASA Provides Update on Moon Base Rovers, Landers, Missions, NASA (May 2026)](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-provides-update-on-moon-base-rovers-landers-missions/)
12. [Blue Origin New Glenn, Federal Aviation Administration](https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholderengagement/blue-origin-new-glenn)
13. [New Shepard, Blue Origin](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard)
14. [Why Messy Rocket Launches From SpaceX and Blue Origin Are Actually Good News, TIME (January 2025)](https://time.com/7207879/spacex-blue-origin-rocket-launches-good-news/)
15. [Blue Origin launches huge rocket carrying twin NASA spacecraft to Mars, AP News (November 13, 2025)](https://apnews.com/article/4e3e6c380b8294b557618a6fea92282b)
16. [Choose Your Overlord, The Atlantic (November 2026)](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/11/bezos-musk-billionaire-space-race/688690/)
17. [Blue Origin says rocket explosion spared fuel tanks and key launch pad parts, AP News (June 2026)](https://apnews.com/article/9d7ea73d581ba15d1fe0f9f6e948b663)
18. [GS1-3 Hotfire Updates, Blue Origin (August 5, 2026)](https://www.blueorigin.com/news/gs1-3-hotfire-updates?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block)
19. [News, Blue Origin](https://www.blueorigin.com/news)
20. [New Glenn Update: Upgraded Engines and Subcooled Components Drive Enhanced Performance, Blue Origin (November 20, 2025)](https://www.blueorigin.com/es-MX/news/new-glenn-upgraded-engines-subcooled-components-drive-enhanced-performance)
21. [NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (IG-26-004), NASA Office of Inspector General (March 2026)](https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/2026-03/IG-26-004.pdf)
22. [Blue Origin Moon Lander Completes Testing at NASA Vacuum Chamber, NASA (May 4, 2026)](https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/blue-origin-moon-lander-completes-testing-at-nasa-vacuum-chamber/)
23. [Space Force Awards Blue Origin Task Order to Launch National Reconnaissance Mission, Space Systems Command (May 28, 2026)](https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/Article-Display/Article/4504468/space-force-awards-blue-origin-task-order-to-launch-national-reconnaissance-mis)
24. [La explosión del cohete de Bezos amenaza la euforia de la industria espacial, Cinco Días (May 30, 2026)](https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2026-05-30/la-explosion-del-cohete-de-bezos-amenaza-la-euforia-de-la-industria-espacial-ante-la-salida-a-bolsa-de-spacex.html)
25. [SpaceTech Monthly Monitor Vol. 39, Intro-act](https://www.intro-act.com/uploads/allnewsletter/202602191041052054552644.pdf)
26. [Jeff Bezos: Blue Origin and Amazon founder, Space.com](https://www.space.com/19341-jeff-bezos.html)
27. [Blue Origin to lay off 10% of employees, Axios (February 13, 2025)](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/blue-origin-layoffs-bezos)
28. [The Space Sector Prepares to Blast Off, Kiplinger](https://www.kiplinger.com/business/the-space-sector-prepares-to-blast-off)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Spaceflight › Human spaceflight, programs and industry › Space companies and spaceflight culture › Blue Origin*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license