The FAA has authorized Blue Origin to launch the New Glenn rocket again

After the launch of SpaceX Starship, attention turns to the launch of a new large spacecraft. This is Blue Origin New Glenn, which will soon be operational for its fourth mission, NG-4, following problems encountered during the third mission. As we know, due to a failure in the second stage of the launch vehicle, the satellite AST SpaceMobile BlueBird 7 was placed in an incorrect orbit and was thus returned prematurely.

This anomalous behavior of the second stage of New Glenn (GS2) led to a joint investigation with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to determine the causes and resume launches. In recent days, Blue Origin reported the closure of the investigation stating, "the FAA has approved our report on mission NG-3 and corrective measures have been implemented. Before the second ignition of GS2, we encountered an abnormal thermal condition and, as a result, one of the BE-3U engines did not reach full thrust to achieve our target orbit."

While the information provided by Blue Origin was somewhat vague, the FAA published a more comprehensive update indicating that the incident was caused by a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and led to a thrust anomaly during the combustion of the second stage engine. To prevent future incidents of this type, Blue Origin has implemented nine corrective actions that will already be applied at the time of the next launch for mission NG-4.

Fun video showcasing "No, It's Necessary" lifting on the Transporter Erector. Next stop integrated hotfire. "Never Tell Me The Odds" is in the house, too (well into its refurb cycle) Video — Dave Limp (@davill) May 22, 2026

It is still unclear what the payload for this mission will be. Some AST satellites will be launched thanks to a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in June, but the company has announced that the production of additional units is well underway and could be brought into orbit thanks to Blue Origin.

It is unlikely that New Glenn of NG-4 will be used for the lunar lander Blue Moon MK1 (considering it is a particularly important payload). Instead, NG-4 could be dedicated to the launch of Amazon Leo satellites (formerly Project Kuiper) considering that the US company is producing them at a good pace and that this is a more "sacrificial" payload compared to others in case of new issues.

Blue Origin is about to perform an integrated static fire with the first stage (GS1) called No, It's Necessary and a new second stage in preparation for the upcoming mission launch. The first stage Never Tell Me The Odds is currently being refurbished and could be used for mission NG-5 by the end of the year leading to its second reuse.