Blue Origin Secures Commercial Space Launch License

(Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday the issuance of a commercial space launch license for Blue Origin's New Glenn launch, founded by Jeff Bezos.

Blue Origin is entering a competitive arena, as the U.S. Department of Defense has selected the company, alongside Elon Musk's SpaceX and the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance, to compete in national security space missions. The Pentagon's initial selections were part of a $5.6 billion program made in June.

The five-year license permits Blue Origin to conduct orbital missions from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The reusable New Glenn first stage will land on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, according to a statement from the FAA.

The debut mission of New Glenn will serve as a certification mission required by the U.S. Space Force before the company can launch national security satellites. Previously, this mission aimed to launch NASA spacecraft to Mars before late October, but delays in New Glenn's development led to the removal of the spacecraft.

Instead, New Glenn will launch technology associated with the Blue Ring program, which aims to provide maneuverable spacecraft to the Pentagon.

Although Blue Origin aims to establish itself, SpaceX has largely dominated the launch industry with its partially reusable Falcon 9 rocket and is testing its next-generation fully reusable Starship rocket. In an October flight test, Starship's first-stage booster successfully returned from the edge of space to its Texas launch pad for the first time.

Blue Origin has faced challenges in bringing its giant New Glenn rocket to market. To expedite development, the company appointed Amazon veteran Dave Limp in December last year.