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Blue Origin Static-Fires New Glenn as NG-3 Reuse Launch Targets Sunday

The test clears a path for a reuse demo that could narrow SpaceX’s lead in orbital booster recovery.

A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket is prepared for launch with NASA's EscaPADE mission with two satellites to orbit Mars, from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., November 8, 2025. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
Pictured is a U.S. Space Force photo of the fourth and final stage of a Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket being secured at Space Launch Complex 8 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. on March 23 for the Space Systems Command’s Space Test Program 29A (STP-S29A) launch.
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Overview

  • New Glenn ignited its seven BE-4 engines in a roughly 20-second static fire Thursday, and Blue Origin is reviewing data before proceeding with launch.
  • The NG-3 mission is scheduled to fly no earlier than Sunday, April 19, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral with a morning window announced by the company.
  • Blue Origin will reuse the first-stage booster “Never Tell Me the Odds,” which flew and was recovered on NG-2, with all seven engines replaced and a nozzle thermal-protection trial noted by CEO Dave Limp.
  • The payload is AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7, a direct-to-smartphone broadband satellite that supports a larger Block 2 constellation the company targets at 45 to 60 spacecraft by the end of 2026.
  • Analysts say a successful flight and landing would challenge SpaceX’s long-held lead in reusability, and Blue Origin says New Glenn boosters are designed for up to 25 flights.