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Blue Origin recently tested its New Glenn rocket recovery crane at Port Canaveral, signaling progress toward the rocket's first launch. The company used a 200-foot-tall simulator to demonstrate the transition of New Glenn's first stage from vertical to horizontal, validating tooling and procedures for recovering the booster from the landing vessel. The 375-foot-tall crane arrived from Germany and will be used for sea-based landing platform operations similar to SpaceX's droneship landings.

New Glenn's launches are scheduled from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 36, with the rocket's pieces moving in preparation for the upcoming liftoff. The rocket is set to utilize seven BE-4 engines, providing nearly 3.9 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Blue Origin has also switched its engine production to support New Glenn after fulfilling orders for United Launch Alliance. The company aims for New Glenn boosters to have a lifespan of at least 25 reflights.

Potential missions for the New Glenn rocket include deploying Mars-bound satellites for NASA's ESCAPADE mission and supporting Artemis missions with Blue Moon lunar lander deliveries. Additionally, commercial customers, including Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites, have flights planned with Blue Origin.

The company's facilities at Cape Canaveral can process three New Glenn rockets simultaneously, and Blue Origin has invested approximately $1 billion in the pad site at LC-36. Once launched, the first-stage booster will land around 620 miles downrange in the Atlantic before returning to Port Canaveral for the next launch.