Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s Space Company: New Shepard, New Glenn and Blue Moon
Updated November 2, 2026.
Blue Origin is the space company of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. It builds two rockets. New Shepard makes short trips to the edge of space, and New Glenn is a large orbital rocket. The company is also developing the Blue Moon lunar lander, which is meant to land on the Moon. The year 2026 brought mixed results. There were advances. There was also a serious accident at the launch site.
New Shepard and Jeff Bezos’s flight
New Shepard is a suborbital rocket. It climbs, releases a capsule with passengers and lands upright. On July 20, 2021, on flight NS-16, the capsule carried four people: Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, pioneer Wally Funk and student Oliver Daemen.
The program had a setback on September 12, 2022. On flight NS-23, with no one on board, the rocket failed during ascent. Nobody was hurt. On January 30, 2026, the company announced a pause in New Shepard flights for at least two years, to focus its efforts on the Moon.
New Glenn
New Glenn is the company’s orbital rocket, with a reusable first stage. It is much larger than New Shepard. It is built to reach orbit. The first flight, NG-1, was on January 16, 2025. The booster was lost on the way back. On NG-2, on November 13, 2025, it carried the ESCAPADE probe and made the first booster landing for Blue Origin.
NG-3, on April 19, 2026, reused the booster and landed it again. But AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite ended up in the wrong orbit. It was a partial result.
In late May 2026, a New Glenn rocket exploded during a static-fire test at Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral. The pad was heavily damaged. Blue Origin says it wants to launch again in 2026, but the sources I reviewed give no confirmed date for the next flight, and rebuilding the pad takes time.
Blue Origin and the Moon
The cargo lander Blue Moon MK1 is planned for the first quarter of 2027. The crewed version, MK2, is the company’s candidate to carry NASA astronauts to the lunar surface under Artemis. According to Gizmodo, the contract calls for a prototype in late 2027. SpaceX competes with Starship. NASA plans to use one of the two landers on Artemis IV.
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| July 20, 2021 | Jeff Bezos flies on New Shepard (NS-16) |
| September 12, 2022 | NS-23 fails, with no crew on board |
| January 16, 2025 | First New Glenn flight (NG-1) |
| November 13, 2025 | First New Glenn booster landing (NG-2) |
| January 30, 2026 | New Shepard flights paused for two years |
| April 19, 2026 | Second New Glenn landing (NG-3) |
| Late May 2026 | Explosion during a static-fire test at LC-36 |
| First quarter of 2027 (planned) | Blue Moon MK1 |
Frequently asked questions
What is Blue Origin?
It is Jeff Bezos’s rocket and spacecraft company. It builds New Shepard, New Glenn and the Blue Moon lunar lander.
Did Jeff Bezos go to space?
Yes, on July 20, 2021, on New Shepard flight NS-16, along with his brother Mark Bezos, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen.
Is New Shepard still flying?
Not for now. The company announced on January 30, 2026, a pause of at least two years in flights.
What happened to New Glenn in 2026?
A rocket exploded during a test at Launch Complex 36 in late May. The company says it plans to launch again in 2026, with no confirmed date.
Will Blue Origin take astronauts to the Moon?
It is a candidate to build one of the Artemis landers. NASA says it will choose between that one and SpaceX’s for Artemis IV.
Read next: Reusable Rockets: How They Work and Who Has Landed One and NASA Explained.
Sources: New Shepard, Wikipedia; New Glenn, Wikipedia; Blue Origin pauses New Shepard, shoots for the Moon, Astronomy; Bezos’s big rocket has proved itself, Gizmodo; Blue Origin adding second pad to Cape Canaveral, Space.com; Artemis program, Wikipedia.
Featured image: U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Samuel Becker, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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