WASHINGTON, United States: Blue Origin, the US space company founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, is set to attempt the first-ever reuse of a rocket booster on its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket on Sunday, marking a significant milestone in its commercial spaceflight programme.
The mission comes at a time of fierce rivalry with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as both companies compete for dominance in the rapidly growing space launch market and for key contracts linked to NASA’s Artemis lunar programme.
If successful, the reuse could significantly increase launch frequency while reducing operational costs, strengthening Blue Origin’s position in the global space industry, according to AFP. The New Glenn rocket, standing at nearly 100 metres (approximately 328 feet), is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The launch window opens between 6:45 am and 8:45 am local time (1045–1245 GMT). The rocket will carry a communications satellite for AST SpaceMobile, a company developing space-based mobile connectivity.
Blue Origin has previously launched the New Glenn twice, though both missions used brand-new boosters. The company has, however, successfully reused its smaller New Shepard suborbital rocket in less complex missions supporting space tourism and research.
A major breakthrough came in November when Blue Origin managed to recover a New Glenn booster for the first time, achieving a controlled vertical landing on a drone barge in the Atlantic Ocean. However, an earlier attempt in January 2025 failed after the booster’s engines did not reignite during descent.
For this historic reuse mission, the booster has been refurbished following its earlier flight. According to the company, all engines have been replaced and additional modifications carried out to improve reliability and performance.
Following liftoff, the New Glenn’s two stages will separate in flight. The upper stage will continue into orbit to deploy the AST SpaceMobile payload, while the reusable booster will return to Earth and attempt another precision landing on a sea-based platform.
The outcome of the mission is expected to be closely monitored by the global aerospace industry, as New Glenn is central to Blue Origin’s long-term strategy of competing in both commercial and government space programmes.
The company is also engaged in NASA’s Artemis initiative, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon in 2028. Blue Origin is developing lunar landing systems alongside SpaceX, as the United States accelerates efforts to achieve a crewed lunar return before the end of President Donald Trump’s term, amid strategic competition with China in space exploration.
