Ars Technica
• Eric Berger
Rocket Lab is emphasizing operational flexibility while Blue Origin advances plans for a two-pad launch architecture, as the commercial launch market faces unprecedented capacity constraints. The developments point to growing pressure on providers to expand infrastructure and adapt launch operations.
Blue Origin
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Rocket Lab is emphasizing operational flexibility while Blue Origin advances plans for a two-pad launch architecture, as the commercial launch market faces unprecedented capacity constraints. The developments point to growing pressure on providers to expand infrastructure and adapt launch operations.
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Bluebox and SkyFive are partnering to help airlines convert air-to-ground connectivity into stronger ancillary revenue and passenger-experience offerings. Separately, Blue Origin has selected RBC Signals to support its Quartz global ground-station network, which is expected to include nine sites by year-end for missions in low Earth orbit and beyond.
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Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said a problem with one of New Glenn’s BE-4 engines triggered the rocket’s massive May explosion. The company is investigating the failure while preparing repairs and targeting a return to flight later this year, a schedule that will depend on vehicle and pad readiness.
The Air Force Research Laboratory added $11.7 million to a Blue Origin contract exploring whether commercial rockets could transport military supplies around the world. The expansion brings the agreement’s total value to approximately $13 million and broadens the Air Force’s examination of commercial launch capacity for logistics.
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NASA and Blue Origin have agreed to test New Glenn engines at NASA’s historic Stennis Space Center stand, giving the company an alternative to capacity constrained by the May static-fire explosion at Launch Complex 36 as it works toward a return to flight before the end of 2026.
Blue Origin says it will use NASA’s Stennis Space Center to test New Glenn upper stages as it rebuilds its Cape Canaveral launch complex. The move shifts part of New Glenn’s development and validation work to Stennis infrastructure while Blue Origin continues ground-site recovery and integration planning.
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NASA and Blue Origin have finalized plans for second-stage hot-fire tests of New Glenn on the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The testing is intended to progress New Glenn’s development alongside Artemis-related objectives.
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Wally Funk, the trailblazing aviator and final living member of NASA’s original “Mercury 13” astronaut trainee class, died at 87 in Texas. She flew into space at 82 after decades of waiting, later recognized as the oldest woman in space, following a Blue Origin invitation.
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