Blue Origin's Long Game: New Glenn, New Shepard and the Moon
Jeff Bezos paused space tourism to chase the Moon. New Glenn has shown real promise and real setbacks. Here is where Blue Origin stands.
MAN TARGET EditorsOctober 30, 2026 4 min read
Blue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000, two years before SpaceX, funded largely by his own fortune, and for years it moved slowly by design. Its motto, Gradatim Ferociter, means step by step, ferociously. In 2025 and 2026 the steps came faster, and so did the falls. The pattern is clear: Blue Origin is trading quick wins in tourism for a bigger position in lunar exploration.
New Shepard: the tourism chapter closes, for now
The suborbital New Shepard was Blue Origin's public face. In 2025 it flew seven crewed missions, including NS-31 in April, the first all-female crew since 1963, and NS-37 in December, which carried the first wheelchair user to space. After NS-38 on 22 January 2026, the company announced a pause of no less than two years to shift resources to its human lunar program. Final tally so far: 38 flights and 98 people above the Kármán line.
New Glenn: big rocket, steep learning curve
- NG-1, 16 January 2025: reached orbit on its first try; the booster was lost.
- NG-2, 13 November 2025: launched NASA's ESCAPADE Mars probes and landed the booster on the ship Jacklyn.
- NG-3, 19 April 2026: first reused booster, recovered again, but an upper-stage engine underperformed and the BlueBird 7 satellite was left in an unusable orbit.
- 28 May 2026: a booster and upper stage exploded during a static-fire test, heavily damaging Launch Complex 36 in Florida.
Gradatim Ferociter: step by step, ferociously. In 2026, both halves of the motto were on display.
The long game is lunar
Bezos's bet is that the money and the meaning are on the Moon. Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK2 is one of two crewed landers in NASA's Artemis plan, alongside SpaceX's Starship. NASA's current plan calls for a 2027 test in Earth orbit in which Orion docks with both landers, then crewed landings targeted for 2028. For the Blue Moon route, smaller MK1 vehicles would act as tugs to bring MK2 into lunar orbit. None of it works without New Glenn flying again, and CEO Dave Limp has said the damaged pad gantry can be repaired in place.
What to watch next
- New Glenn's return to flight from a repaired Launch Complex 36.
- The first New Glenn launches for Amazon's Leo satellite network, already on the manifest.
- Uncrewed Blue Moon landing demonstrations, which NASA requires before astronauts fly.
- Whether New Shepard returns for tourists once the pause ends.
Key takeaways
- New Shepard flew 38 times and carried 98 people before a pause of at least two years.
- New Glenn landed its booster on its second flight and reused it on its third.
- A May 2026 static-fire explosion damaged New Glenn's only active launch pad.
- The real prize is the Moon: Blue Moon is one of NASA's two Artemis landers.
FAQ
Is Blue Origin still flying tourists?
Not for now. In January 2026 Blue Origin paused New Shepard flights for at least two years to focus on its lunar program.
Has New Glenn landed a booster?
Yes. It landed on the ship Jacklyn on its second flight in November 2025, and a reused booster was recovered again in April 2026.
What is Blue Moon?
Blue Origin's family of lunar landers. Blue Moon MK2 is one of NASA's two crewed landers for Artemis.
Track Blue Origin, SpaceX and the lunar economy with Man Target Intelligence briefings.
ExploreShare this story
The Sunday Brief.
The new space race, decoded once a week. Join free.
Keep reading
SpaceX in 2026: Starship Reaches Orbit, Falcon Never Stops
Starship finally reached orbit, Falcon 9 keeps a near-daily rhythm and Starlink passed 13 million users. What changed this year, in plain terms.
MAN TARGET Editors · 4 min read
Virgin Galactic's Comeback: Inside the Delta-Class Spaceships
No flights since June 2024. A new spaceship named Apeiron has just arrived in New Mexico. What the Delta class promises, and when.
MAN TARGET Editors · 4 min read
Space Tourism Explained: Suborbital, Orbital or Space Station?
Minutes of weightlessness, days in orbit or two weeks on the ISS. The three ways to go, what each demands and what is actually flying.
MAN TARGET Editors · 4 min read