New Glenn is still rebuilding LC-36A for a crane-based return to flight. Refurbished vehicle-access-tower modules are going back up, Never Tell Me The Odds is headed to the Integration Facility, and a new upper stage has shipped to Stennis. Blue Origin’s public goal is still a flight before the end of 2026 — that is not a launch date.
01 / 07
Official recovery sequence
Blue Origin reports the first two phases complete. Design work and major repairs are now the active program phase — 2 of 5 phases cleared.
Site secured
LC-36 access and safety controls established after the May 28 hotfire anomaly.
Recovery and cleanup
Hardware recovery and debris removal are complete; reconstruction has started.
CONOPS and major repairs
Refurbished vehicle-access-tower modules are being restacked for the crane-based flow. Launch-table inspection and the rest of the pad rebuild are still in work.
Systems integration
Repaired ground systems and the crane-based vertical breakover flow must be integrated and tested.
Flight readiness
Corrective-action verification, mission assignment, rollout, rehearsal, range coordination, and a launch window remain ahead.
02 / 07
Two workstreams, kept separate
The NG-3 flight investigation and the May 28 ground-test investigation run separately — the page keeps them apart on purpose.
Flight workstream
The FAA closed the April 19 mishap investigation after identifying a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line during the second-stage burn. Nine corrective actions still require verification before the next launch.
FAA return to flight authorized · verification pending
Ground workstream
The separate integrated-vehicle hotfire investigation remains active. On August 6 Dave Limp said the anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one BE-4 engine; remaining fault-tree work is still in progress. Recovery and cleanup are complete, and pad reconstruction has started.
Root cause under investigation · repairs in work
03 / 07
Horizontal / vertical CONOPS
Blue Origin will not rebuild the transporter-erector. The company is moving the existing 7x2 vehicle to a crane-based flow at 36A, adapting work that had already been under development for 9x4 operations at 36B.
GS1 and GS2 are joined inside the Integration Facility.
The integrated 7x2 vehicle travels to the refurbished pad.
A crane lifts New Glenn onto the launch table and hold-down ring.
The payload is lifted and connected after the rocket is vertical.
Configuration continuity
New Glenn is not skipping directly to 9x4 — 7x2 production continues at rate while the new launch flow is completed.
Return vehicle
7x2
Return pad
36A
04 / 07
Recovery ledger & signals
Blue Origin's confirmed LC-36 damage and vehicle-recovery picture as of September 15, 2026 — alongside the signals that gate the next flight.
Recovery ledger
Preserved infrastructure
In work
Lost hardware
Vehicle path
Healthy in the Integration Facility as of June 1
Signals to watch
Tower modules restacking
Cleanup is complete. Earlier in September, refurbished vehicle-access-tower modules began going back onto the tower. The launch table remains in inspection. Umbilical work, water-system tie-in, and systems integration are still ahead.
Valve identified · fault tree open
On August 5 Dave Limp said the anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one BE-4, confirmed by recovered hardware. Valve modifications were in manufacturing and expected by the end of August. Blue Origin has not posted that the remaining fault tree is closed.
Verification pending
The FAA closed the NG-3 mishap investigation and authorized return to flight, subject to verification of nine corrective actions and other licensing requirements.
New flow in design
The 7x2 vehicle will be integrated horizontally, lifted onto the refurbished launch table by crane, and receive its payload after vertical breakover.
Assignment pending
Blue Origin has not publicly confirmed the next payload, target orbit, or launch window beyond its goal to fly again before the end of 2026.
Stage shipped to Stennis
The July 24 Stennis agreement added an upper-stage hotfire site. In early September a new upper stage shipped from Florida to Stennis for that test. A completed hotfire has not been posted.
05 / 07
Orbital missions
New Glenn's orbital missions to date, newest first. This record stands apart from the LC-36 ground incident.
The reused NG-2 booster landed again, but an upper-stage thrust anomaly left BlueBird 7 in an unusably low orbit; the spacecraft was subsequently deorbited.
Sunday, April 19, 2026 · New Glenn 7x2 · LC-36
New Glenn deployed NASA's ESCAPADE twin spacecraft to their loiter orbit and landed the first stage on Jacklyn.
Thursday, November 13, 2025 · New Glenn 7x2 · LC-36
New Glenn reached its intended orbit with Blue Ring Pathfinder; the first-stage landing attempt failed after a reentry-burn restart issue.
Thursday, January 16, 2025 · New Glenn 7x2 · LC-36
06 / 07
May 28 anomaly
All personnel were accounted for. This event remains part of the active ground-test investigation, while the page's primary focus follows the documented rebuild and return-to-flight sequence.
Source footage
Watch the source footage from the May 28 integrated-vehicle hotfire anomaly, as captured from the Cape.
Watch source footage07 / 07
Sources and updates
Primary program, regulatory, and customer records used for this tracker.