FAA clears Blue Origin for New Glenn; company unveils $600M Florida campus

Blue Origin received Federal Aviation Administration clearance on May 22 to return its New Glenn rocket to flight after regulators closed their investigation into the NG-3 upper-stage mishap from April 19. The FAA said it accepted the findings of the Blue Origin-led investigation and authorized the vehicle to fly again, provided all other licensing requirements are met and the company implements corrective actions before the next mission. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the same day that Blue Origin will spend $600 million to expand its Rocket Park campus at Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The state said the project includes an estimated 830,000-square-foot upper-stage manufacturing facility and is expected to support 500 aerospace jobs with an average salary above $98,000. (faa.gov) ### What did the FAA clear, exactly? The FAA said on May 22 that the investigation into the New Glenn-3 mishap is closed. The agency said there were no public injuries or public property damage from the April 19 event. The final mishap report identified the direct cause as a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and led to a thrust anomaly during the second-stage engine burn, according to the FAA. (flgov.com) The agency said Blue Origin identified nine corrective actions to prevent a recurrence. ### What happened on the NG-3 mission? Blue Origin said New Glenn’s third mission lifted off on Sunday, April 19, 2026, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. (faa.gov) The mission was carrying AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite to low Earth orbit. The FAA said on April 20 that it required a mishap investigation after New Glenn 3 experienced a problem during the second-stage flight sequence following what it described as a successful launch. (faa.gov) The agency said at the time it would oversee the Blue Origin-led probe and approve the final report and any corrective actions. ### What is Blue Origin building in Florida? (blueorigin.com) Florida said the $600 million expansion will add an upper-stage manufacturing facility at Rocket Park, part of Blue Origin’s campus on the Space Coast. The governor’s office said the project will use the state’s Spaceport Improvement Program to support construction. (faa.gov) Dave Limp, Blue Origin’s chief executive, said in the state announcement that “Project Horizon is the latest and most ambitious chapter” in the company’s decade-long commitment to Florida. The governor’s office said Blue Origin has scaled to nearly 4,000 employees in the state, invested more than $2.3 billion across 500 Florida suppliers and expanded to 11 sites across Brevard and Orange counties. Blue Origin published the same employee, supplier and site figures in a September 2025 update on its Florida operations. (flgov.com) ### Why does the factory focus on upper stages? Florida said the new facility is designed to directly increase the volume and mass that can be delivered to orbit from Florida. The state tied the project specifically to upper-stage manufacturing, the same part of the rocket system involved in the NG-3 mishap investigation. (flgov.com) Blue Origin’s New Glenn program uses a liquid-hydrogen upper stage and markets the vehicle as a heavy-lift launcher for a range of payloads and destinations. The company says the rocket’s first stage is designed for a minimum of 25 flights. ### What has to happen before New Glenn flies again? The FAA said Blue Origin is authorized to return to flight only if all other licensing requirements are met. (flgov.com) The agency also said it will verify that Blue Origin implements the nine corrective actions before the next New Glenn mission. Cape Canaveral remains the center of those next steps. Blue Origin’s most recent New Glenn mission launched from Launch Complex 36 there on April 19, and the company’s Rocket Park expansion announced on May 22 is also based at Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (blueorigin.com 1) (blueorigin.com 2) (faa.gov)