Blue Origin plans a $330-million expansion of its production and integration facilities in Florida as it prepares the heavier New Glenn 9x4 variant of its orbital rocket, Reuters reported Friday. The project is targeted for completion in summer 2027 and would let the company produce up to 150 upper stages a year.
The company has now invested more than $3 billion in the Florida complex, which spans roughly 31 acres and employs about 5,000 people, according to Ian Richardson, its senior vice president of operations, writing in a company blog post. Additional launch and landing pads are also planned.
The build-out is meant to support an eventual cadence of multiple New Glenn flights per week by the end of the decade - an ambitious goal for a rocket that is currently grounded. New Glenn has not flown since a May pad explosion, which occurred days before a planned launch carrying Amazon satellites.
The rocket's April flight was also its first mission failure, delivering an AST SpaceMobile satellite to the wrong orbit. Blue Origin expects the New Glenn to return to flight early next year.
