WASHINGTON \u2014 Blue Origin disclosed new details about its plans to not only rebuild but also expand its Florida launch site, adding a second pad for a larger version of New Glenn.<\/p>\n
The company announced Aug. 12 that it will add a second pad to Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. That pad, LC-36B, will be designed for the New Glenn 9\u00d74, an upgraded version of the vehicle.<\/p>\n
The announcement did not disclose a schedule for building the new pad. That work will include not just the pad itself but also a vertical integration facility for the rocket and a payload processing facility. The Space Force awarded Blue Origin a $78.2 million contract in October 2025<\/a> for the payload processing facility.<\/p>\n The company was already planning a second pad at LC-36 before the May 28 explosion of a New Glenn rocket on the existing pad during a static-fire test. That explosion caused significant damage to the pad, which the company is now rebuilding.<\/p>\n That rebuilt pad, now called LC-36A, will be used for the current version of New Glenn, called New Glenn 7\u00d72 because it uses seven BE-4 engines in its first stage and two BE-3U engines in its upper stage. The larger New Glenn 9\u00d74 will have nine BE-4 engines in its first stage and four BE-3U engines in its upper stage.<\/p>\n Blue Origin announced plans for New Glenn 9\u00d74 in November 2025<\/a> but did not disclose when it expected the vehicle to begin flying. The company did not provide a schedule for the vehicle in the announcement of the new pad.<\/p>\n \u201cRebuilding LC-36A and flying again this year remains our priority,\u201d Dave Limp, chief executive of Blue Origin, said in an Aug. 12 social media post<\/a>.<\/p>\n