Has Blue Origin reached orbit?

Yes. Blue Origin's heavy-lift New Glenn rocket reached orbit on its first flight, the NG-1 mission, on January 16, 2025, from Cape Canaveral.

What rockets does Blue Origin build?

Blue Origin builds the New Shepard reusable suborbital rocket for human and research flights, and the New Glenn heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle.

Who founded Blue Origin?

Blue Origin was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. It is headquartered in Kent, Washington.

Companies

ActiveUnited StatesCommercial

Blue Origin

New Shepard suborbital and New Glenn orbital rockets

Founded: 2000
Headquarters: Kent, Washington

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Total launches

Successful

95.1%

Success rate

Upcoming

Overview

Blue Origin is an American aerospace company founded in 2000 by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Headquartered in Kent, Washington, the company pursues a long-term vision of lowering the cost of access to space through reusable rocket technology and expanding human presence in space.

Its flagship vehicles are New Shepard, a fully reusable suborbital rocket designed for human and research flights, and New Glenn, a heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle. Beyond launch, Blue Origin develops the Blue Moon lunar lander, the Blue Ring spacecraft platform, and is a partner on the proposed Orbital Reef commercial space station.

Blue Origin remains active as of 2026. New Shepard has flown crewed suborbital missions since 2021, and New Glenn reached orbit on its first flight in January 2025. In early 2026 the company opted to pause New Shepard tourism flights to concentrate resources on its Artemis lunar lander work.

Milestones

Timeline

2000
Company founded
Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin on September 8, 2000, with a long-term vision of low-cost, reusable access to space.
2015
First New Shepard launch and landing
Blue Origin achieved the first uncrewed suborbital launch and powered vertical landing of its reusable New Shepard rocket.
Jul 2021
First crewed flight
New Shepard's NS-16 mission carried its first crew, including Jeff Bezos, on a suborbital flight past the Karman line.
Jan 2025
New Glenn reaches orbit
Blue Origin's heavy-lift New Glenn rocket reached orbit on its debut NG-1 flight from Cape Canaveral on January 16, 2025.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Fleet

Rockets

New Shepard

38 launches

New Glenn

3 launches

Commercial Rockets Bring New Life to Stennis

Sixty years since its first test firings began, NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi is welcoming Blue Origin and Relativity Space to its facilities.

Space Scout·6d ago

Rocket Lab protests NASA's decision to award Blue Origin $700 million Mars orbiter contract

Rocket Lab still holds out hope that it can build NASA's next Mars orbiter. The agency picked Blue Origin for that job earlier this month, awarding Jeff Bezos ' spaceflight company $700 million to develop, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN). Today (Sept. 11), however, Rocket Lab announced that it has challenged that decision, filing a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Rocket Lab has filed a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office challenging NASA’s award decision for the Mars Telecommunications Network.NASA’s award…

Space.com·last week

Blue Origin Nets NASA Mars Orbiter Contract

Blue Origin will design and launch the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter by the end of 2028.

Space Scout·2w ago

Blue Origin wins $700 million contract to build NASA's next Mars orbiter

Blue Origin will build NASA's next Mars orbiter. The agency announced on Tuesday (Sept. 1) that it has selected Jeff Bezos ' spaceflight company to develop the $700 million Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN), which is expected to be up and running at the Red Planet by 2030. "The award marks a milestone in NASA's strategy to expand communications and navigation services beyond Earth and the moon , establishing the foundation for sustained exploration of Mars in the coming decades," NASA officials said in a statement on Tuesday . As its name suggests, the MTN — previously known as the Mars…

Space.com·2w ago

Tory Bruno Named Honorary Chair Of World Space Week 2027

Houston — World Space Week Association announced today that Tory Bruno, President of National Security at Blue Origin, will serve as Honorary Chair of World Space Week 2027. “Tory Bruno […] The post Tory Bruno Named Honorary Chair Of World Space Week 2027 appeared first on SpaceNews.

SpaceNews·3w ago

Blue Origin adding second pad to Cape Canaveral launch complex amid rocket explosion repairs

Blue Origin plans to return its Florida launch site to a dual-pad facility to support its bigger, more powerful New Glenn "9x4" rocket, which is still under development. As facility repairs continue following the explosion of one of Blue Origin's New Glenn "7x2" rockets during tests at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex-36 in May, the company has announced its intent to expand the site with an additional pad. The company also plans to build operations infrastructure for the complex on land nearby, which will include a Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) for the New Glenn 9x4…

Space.com·last month

Blue Origin overviews plan for dual pad ops at Cape Canaveral

As Blue Origin continues restoring its primary launch pad at LC-36A, the company has released… The post Blue Origin overviews plan for dual pad ops at Cape Canaveral appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

NASASpaceflight·last month

Blue Origin outlines plans for second Cape Canaveral launch pad

Blue Origin disclosed new details about its plans to not only rebuild but also expand its Florida launch site, adding a second pad for a larger version of New Glenn. The post Blue Origin outlines plans for second Cape Canaveral launch pad appeared first on SpaceNews.

SpaceNews·last month

Blue Origin working engine resolutions and dual pad future

Blue Origin is nearing the end of its investigation into the catastrophic explosion of a… The post Blue Origin working engine resolutions and dual pad future appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

NASASpaceflight·last month

Blue Origin identifies engine issue behind New Glenn explosion

The Aug. 5 update from Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp offered the first explanation for what caused the company’s 98-meter-tall (320 ft.) to explode at the pad on May 28.

Spaceflight Now·last month

Blue Origin narrowing in on root cause of catastrophic rocket accident

"The anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines."

Ars Technica·last month

New Glenn explosion linked to rocket engine valve

Blue Origin has traced the explosion of its New Glenn rocket during a static-fire test in May to a valve in the rocket’s BE-4 engine. The post New Glenn explosion linked to rocket engine valve appeared first on SpaceNews.

SpaceNews·last month

Posts from X

Blue Origin@blueorigin

As Star Trek celebrates 60 years this week, voyage into the philosophy and future of spaceflight. In Part 2 of Rod Roddenberry's conversation on Ascending Node, the focus turns to what is happening in spaceflight technology today at Blue, and what that means for the future. Listen now: youtu.be/0Dt-Ro2YKSE 🖖

Sep 10, 2026, 2:07 PM

Blue Origin@blueorigin

Welcome to Rocket Park, home of New Glenn and Lunar Permanence 🚀🌕 This week, we hosted the @NASAArtemis III crew — Astronauts Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade), Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca), Andre Douglas (@Astro_AndreD), Frank Rubio, and backup Bob Hines (@Astro_FarmerBob). The crew got an up-close look at where New Glenn and our lunar landers come to life, then headed to LC-36, where we will launch our MK2 Earth Orbit Rendezvous demonstration vehicle in support of the Artemis III mission.

Sep 4, 2026, 5:17 PM

Blue Origin@blueorigin

The Moon is, on average, 238,855 miles away. Our MK1-101 Endurance team just made it feel closer. Across two weeks of simulations, our team rehearsed key mission phases, including launch and separation, lunar orbit insertion, lunar orbit operations, and landing. The training also included checkout and software-emulated use of @NASA’s Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) payload system, providing the team with hands-on experience operating a key science instrument on Endurance. Each sim builds the coordination, confidence, and readiness needed for our mission to the lunar surface.

Sep 3, 2026, 10:27 PM

Blue Origin@blueorigin

Mars just got a little closer. Blue Origin is honored to have been selected by @NASA to help build the first dedicated communications network at the Red Planet. Our Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO), built on the Blue Ring platform, will create new pathways for science while delivering multiple payloads to the orbit of Mars, driving discovery today and preparing for the next chapter of human exploration. Learn more: bit.ly/4qSh8sF

Sep 2, 2026, 8:49 PM

Blue Origin@blueorigin

Your live view from the Moon: coming up! Lunar Express's architecture will deliver multiple simultaneous 4K video links — from the lunar surface and orbit all the way to Earth — with the capacity to scale further. For the first time ever, humanity will witness a Moon Base being built live, brick by Moon-brick, in 4K high-definition. Learn more about the Blue Ring spacecraft: blueorigin.com/blue-ring

Aug 20, 2026, 7:23 PM

Blue Origin@blueorigin

Our first three Quartz ground stations have been installed and completed acceptance testing in Bermuda, New Zealand, and Australia. Quartz is our global ground communications network, purpose-built to support Blue’s product portfolio and external customers across a broad range of mission sets. Nine sites worldwide by the end of the year. Read more: bit.ly/4fRTgS4

Aug 13, 2026, 4:05 PM

Blue Origin@blueorigin

We’re building Launch Complex 36B at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to support New Glenn’s high-cadence launch operations and infrastructure resiliency. 🚀 Read more: bit.ly/4wnlaKu