Jeff Bezos on Monday shared a striking nighttime photograph of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket standing on the pad as the company readies the vehicle for its third test flight, offering another public sign that the heavy-lift launcher is nearing a return to action after its second mission in November.
Bezos Post Draws Musk Reaction
Bezos posted the image on X as Blue Origin continues final preparations for the flight, known as NG-3. The photo showed New Glenn illuminated against the night sky at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk replied with a brief compliment, writing, "Looks good!"
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp also posted his own image Monday, this time in daylight, showing the rocket and its payload, AST SpaceMobile Inc’s (NASDAQ:ASTS) BlueBird satellite, already enclosed in New Glenn's 7-meter nosecone.
Booster Reflight Marks Major Test Milestone
Blue Origin has said the rocket recently rolled out for a hot-fire campaign and the company's launch site page says LC-36 is the New Glenn base in Cape Canaveral. The NG-3 mission is set to be a first for Blue Origin because it plans to refly the same booster used on NG-2. That first stage, nicknamed "Never Tell Me the Odds," was recovered after the November 2025 mission and is being refurbished for another flight.
Blue Origin still has not published an official launch date on its own channels. But the Space Coast Office of Tourism launch calendar currently lists the New Glenn launch for 6:45 am ET on Friday, April 17, 2026. That would be only the third launch for the rocket since its debut in January 2025. Blue Origin named New Glenn after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth.
NASA Plans Raise New Glenn's Stakes
The flight also matters beyond the commercial satellite market. NASA has selected Blue Origin as its second lunar lander provider, while the agency's updated Artemis plan now calls for a 2027 Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit to test rendezvous and docking with one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin.
NASA has said Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 is slated for Artemis V, while Blue Moon Mark 1 is listed on NASA's launch schedule for 2026.
Photo: lev radin on Shutterstock.com
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