Overview
- Blue Origin finished a launch rehearsal Tuesday and plans a static‑fire test Wednesday as final checks for NG‑3.
- The FAA planning advisory lists a possible 6:45 a.m. ET April 16 liftoff from Cape Canaveral, though the company has not announced a date.
- NG‑3 will re‑fly the first‑stage booster from November 2025’s NG‑2 mission and is slated to deploy AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird satellites to low Earth orbit.
- The U.S. Space Force advanced Blue Origin to final lease talks for Space Launch Complex‑14 at Vandenberg to build heavy or super‑heavy launch operations, with officials citing a typical two‑year stand‑up and pending environmental review.
- Launching from Vandenberg enables direct routes to polar and sun‑synchronous orbits used by intelligence, weather, and missile‑tracking satellites, which helps the Pentagon diversify away from East Coast pads and speed satellite replacement; NASA has also slated Blue Origin’s Blue Moon for Artemis missions, tying New Glenn’s cadence to lunar plans.