New Glenn
OperationalBlue Origin · United States · First flight 2025 · Reusable first stage
Blue Origin's orbital heavy-lift launch vehicle with a reusable first stage. Features the largest payload fairing in production at 7 meters diameter. Named after astronaut John Glenn. Successfully landed its first stage booster on the second flight in November 2025, but the third flight (NG-3, April 19, 2026) suffered a second-stage failure that lost AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7, and a pad explosion on May 28, 2026 destroyed another vehicle and damaged Launch Complex 36, as of August 2026 the fleet is effectively grounded pending an engine fix.
Launch price
~$68M
~$1,511/kg to LEO
Payload to LEO
45,000 kg
13,000 kg to GTO
Career record
67%
2/3 successful · as of 2026-09-01
Next launch
NET 2026
Amazon Leo (LN-01)
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More launch calendarsLaunch activity, live
From SpaceNexus's launch tracker (tracked since Jan 16, 2025); outcomes recorded as each flight lands. Career totals above are the vehicle's full history.
Last 90 days
0
launches flown
Tracked flights
3
2 success · 0 partial · 1 failed
Tracked success rate
66.7%
full successes / attempts; partial failures are not successes
On the manifest
8
upcoming launches
Upcoming
Specifications
| Height | 98 m |
| Diameter | 7 m |
| Liftoff mass | 1,500,000 kg |
| Stages | 2 |
| Engines | 7x BE-4 + 2x BE-3U |
| Propellant | CH4 / LOX (booster) + LH2 / LOX (upper) |
| Fairing diameter | 7 m |
| Payload to LEO | 45,000 kg |
| Payload to GTO | 13,000 kg |
| Payload to SSO | – |
| Payload to TLI | – |
| Reusable | Yes (first stage) |
| First flight | 2025-01-16 |
| Last flight | Active |
| Variants seen on the manifest | New Glenn |
Where it launches from
Frequently asked
How much does a New Glenn launch cost?
A dedicated New Glenn launch lists at roughly $68 million, about $1,511 per kilogram to low Earth orbit at full payload. Actual contract prices vary with orbit, integration and government requirements.
When is the next New Glenn launch?
The next tracked New Glenn launch is Amazon Leo (LN-01), NET 2026 from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA. Dates move; Mission Control carries the live countdown.
How reliable is New Glenn?
New Glenn has flown 3 times as of 2026-09-01, with 2 successes, 1 failures and 0 partial failures: a 67% success rate.
How much can New Glenn carry?
45,000 kg to low Earth orbit, 13,000 kg to geostationary transfer orbit.
Status
groundedas of 2026-09-06
Grounded while Launch Complex 36 is rebuilt after the May 28, 2026 static-fire explosion; return to flight targeted before the end of 2026.
- 2025-11NG-2: booster landed on the ship Jacklyn, the first heavy-lift booster landing outside SpaceX.
- 2026-04-19NG-3: first booster reflight, landed again; the upper stage's thrust anomaly on its second burn left the payload in the wrong orbit. FAA grounded the vehicle.
- 2026-05-28A booster and its fueled upper stage exploded during a static fire on LC-36; Blue Origin traced it to a BE-4 main oxygen valve. The pad was badly damaged but repairable; no injuries.
- 2026-08-05Blue Origin named the cause and said it expects to fly again before the end of 2026.
Next: Return to flight from a rebuilt LC-36; the next tracked launch is what moves this to flying.
Sources: Spaceflight Now, 2026-04-20 · Space.com (FAA grounding) · Blue Origin statement, 2026-08-05 · Wikipedia: 2026 New Glenn rocket explosion
Public commitments
On the Promise Ledger: 4 entries: 1 met late; 2 revised; 1 pending. Exact words, primary sources, deadlines and outcomes.
- New Glenn flies again in 2026 after the May 28 pad explosion
- New Glenn NG-3 launch no earlier than late February 2026
- Second New Glenn flight, with another booster landing attempt, in spring 2025
- Blue Origin orbital rocket launching from Cape Canaveral this decade
What the statuses mean
- Met late:
- happened after the deadline.
- Revised:
- the date or quantity was moved before it came due.
- Pending:
- the deadline has not passed.
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