NASA has added Blue Origin’s New Glenn 9×4 rocket configuration to its launch-services program, giving the agency another option for future government missions.
The rocket was added to NASA’s Launch Services II contract through an annual process that allows new launch providers and new vehicles to become eligible to compete for upcoming missions. The contract is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The move does not award Blue Origin a specific NASA mission. Instead, it makes New Glenn 9×4 available for NASA to consider when choosing rockets for future launches. NASA can also use the contract to provide launch services for other federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Blue Origin is already expanding its Florida launch infrastructure for the 9×4 configuration. The company is building a second pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, known as Launch Complex 36B, along with a new facility for vertically integrating the rocket and its payloads.
NASA’s Launch Services II ordering period runs through June 2030, while the overall contracts extend through December 2032. Adding New Glenn 9×4 gives the agency another commercial launch option as larger and more complex spacecraft require increasingly powerful rockets.
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Blue Origin still has to compete for individual NASA missions, but getting New Glenn 9×4 onto the contract is an important step. It puts the rocket in position to pursue more government launch business as Blue Origin expands its infrastructure and works to increase its launch capacity.
