Blue Origin attempts end of year return and eyes Artemis IV selection

Date:
Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:02:54 +0000

Description:
With Blue Origin moving towards a potential return to flight by late 2026, NASA has The post Blue Origin attempts end of year return and eyes Artemis IV selection appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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With Blue Origin moving towards a potential return to flight by late 2026, NASA has formally integrated a Blue Moon Mark 2 (Mk2) test article into its revised Artemis III low-Earth orbit (LEO) flight profile. Under the updated plan, the vehicle will launch to LEO to perform critical rendezvous and crew-ingress demonstrations ahead of full lunar surface operations under Artemis IV, if selected by NASA.

Meanwhile, Blue Origin has completed major structural repairs at Launch Complex 36A (LC-36A) following the May anomaly. The company is also laying
the physical foundation for its secondary launch pad, Launch Complex 36B (LC-36B).

Module 9 done. Standing tall again at LC-36! The Vehicle Access Tower is fully assembled, with every module repaired and back in place. This was a monumental effort. Proud of Team Blue. pic.twitter.com/dSI2ENcU0H

Dave Limp (@davill) October 24, 2026



Artemis III

During an agency press briefing on Oct. 23, NASA shared key progress on Blue Origins Mk2 lander architecture. Launched aboard a New Glenn vehicle, the Mk2 test article will enter LEO ahead of Orion, which will then launch atop SLS
to execute rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) with Blue Moon.
Alongside Blue Origin, SpaceXs Starship Human Landing System (HLS) will also participate in the Artemis III mission.

Once docked, the Artemis III astronauts will spend two days attached to the lander to evaluate the operational environment firsthand. Crew members will ingress the cabin to assess environmental control and life-support systems (ECLSS), flight avionics, software interfaces, and manual controls.

Manufacturing of the test article is progressing rapidly across Blue Origins Florida facilities. Structural fabrication of the dome and barrel panels is currently underway, with final hull welding expected to wrap up by January 2027. Following hull completion, technicians will integrate communication systems, flight controls, and avionics before testing and vehicle encapsulation within New Glenns seven-meter fairing halves at Launch Complex 36A. Key Blue Origin Artemis III and Artemis IV development timelines
(Credit: NASA)

Artemis IV: Accelerated Architecture

In addition to the Artemis III test milestones, NASA outlined an accelerated concept of operations (ConOps) for the Artemis IV mission, targeted for 2028. The proposed plan shifts away from the originally planned Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) aggregation. The agency detailed two versions of the mission: one using Starship as the lander and one using Blue Moon Mk2.

To initiate the mission profile using Blue Moon Mk2, three Transfer Stages will join the lander in LEO. The combined stack will then ignite toward an Elliptical Polar Orbit (EPO) around the Moon, staging off the first two Transfer Stages sequentially as their propellant depletes.

Once established in EPO, Orion will dock with the Blue Moon lander. After detaching from Orion, the third Transfer Stage will then execute the descent burn to push the Mk2 lander down to low-lunar orbit and then to the lunar surface. Accelerated concept of operations for Artemis IV. (Credit: NASA)

Following the completion of surface operations, the Mk2 ascent element will launch from the Moon, redock with Orion, before the crew transfers back into the spacecraft. Orion will then undock from Blue Moon before executing its trans-Earth injection burn.

Blue Origin plans to perform an uncrewed landing demonstration on the lunar surface with the Mk2 lander before flying crew on Artemis IV. However, Blue Origin is in competition with SpaceX to be selected for Artemis IV, and NASA will select based on the performance of both vehicles on Artemis III.

Pad Infrastructure Advances at LC-36A and LC-36B

At Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Blue Origin has made rapid recovery progress following the hot-fire anomaly at Launch Complex 36A (LC-36A)
earlier this year. With the company targeting a return to launch by the end
of 2026, Blue Origin has made exceptional progress in a mere five months. Illustration of Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar lander. (Credit: Blue Origin) See Also LC-36 Rebuild Updates Blue Origin Section NSF Store Click Here to Join L2

On Oct. 24, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp confirmed that all nine modules of the Vehicle Access Tower (VAT) are repaired and stacked back into their original configuration. This milestone follows the Oct. 9 announcement that the pads launch bridge has been re-erected and certified ready for operational use.

Adjacent to the primary pad, civil foundation work is progressing rapidly on Launch Complex 36B (LC-36B). Crews recently completed the initial major concrete pour for the pads pile caps, delivering concrete via a convoy of 450 trucks. Three additional concrete pours will follow to complete the heavy launch pad foundation.

Once the pile caps and foundation slabs are complete, construction crews will begin erecting the flame diverter and excavating the primary flame trench.

Structural work will then transition to installing the launch mount and erecting a VAT, alongside laying heavy fluid lines to supply cryogenic and high-pressure propellant commodities from LC-36As central tank farm. This expansion will provide dedicated capacity for the larger 9-by-4 New Glenn configuration, boosting operational flexibility and flight cadence. The team also made progress at LC-36B yesterday. Roughly 450 truckloads of concrete, lined up bumper-to-bumper and stretching nearly 3 miles up the coast, supported a 4,500-cubic-yard pour for the pile caps. Three more placements to go for a total of 15,000 cubic yards. This is pic.twitter.com/yCQccLVxfO

Dave Limp (@davill) October 25, 2026



With the Vehicle Access Tower fully restored at LC-36A and foundation work advancing at LC-36B, Blue Origin is now positioned to complete remaining LC-36A pad integration ahead of a targeted return to flight later this year.

(Lead Image: Blue Origin progressing with the rebuild of its Vehicle Access Tower. Credit: Max Evans for NSF)



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/10/blue-origin-update-2/


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