Blue Origin Advances Historic Launch Sites for New Glenn
Blue Origin’s path toward the debut of its New Glenn orbital launch vehicle has been marked by steady infrastructure progress at two storied Cape Canaveral facilities: Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) and Launch Complex 11 (LC-11). The company’s work at these sites blends modern engineering with decades of aerospace history, positioning them for future heavy-lift operations.
C-36, once the domain of Atlas-Centaur rockets, saw its first launch on May 8, 1962, when Atlas Centaur AC-1 attempted to test the Centaur upper stage. That mission ended in failure less than a minute into flight after an insulation panel tore away, causing structural collapse. Over the following years, LC-36A and LC-36B hosted milestones including the first operational liquid hydrogen upper stage to reach orbit, the Surveyor lunar landers, and Mariner 9—the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. The complex also supported commercial satellite launches, such as Intelsat-4 2 in 1972, marking the Atlas family’s entry into the commercial market.
The site’s operational history spanned Atlas I, II, IIAS, and III variants, with innovations like strap-on solid rocket boosters and the adoption of the RD-180 engine. LC-36’s final launches came in 2004 and 2005, with the Atlas IIAS and Atlas IIIB respectively, before deactivation. Demolition of service towers followed in 2006 and 2007, leaving only the Atlas-era blockhouse intact.
LC-11, part of Cape Canaveral’s “Missile Row,” was active from 1958 to 1964 and hosted 33 launches. It was the site of SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, which broadcast a pre-recorded Christmas message from President Eisenhower in 1958. After Atlas missile testing ended, LC-11 lay dormant for over half a century.
Blue Origin entered the picture in 2016, signing long-term leases for both LC-36 and LC-11. LC-36 would serve as the launch site for New Glenn, while LC-11 would host BE-4 engine testing. The company merged the two facilities operationally, enabling streamlined integration between launch and propulsion test activities.
Construction at LC-36 began with pad foundations and was complemented by the build-out of Blue Origin’s production factory at Exploration Park, completed in 2020. This facility handles New Glenn’s manufacturing, assembly, and testing, and houses the New Shepard 2 vehicle on display. LC-36 received massive cryogenic storage tanks for liquid methane, liquid oxygen, and liquid hydrogen, along with a ramp connecting the integration facility to the pad.
By 2019, the Fixed Service Structure—doubling as a lightning tower—was underway, alongside a large water tower and flame trench. The integration facility now occupies the former LC-36B site, while the flame trench covers LC-36A’s footprint. Late 2020 saw the arrival of New Glenn’s launch mount, designed to interface with the rocket’s transporter erector.
The upcoming pathfinder first stage, built to match the size and mass of the operational booster, will validate pad and ground systems. A refurbishment facility near the ramp is under construction to enable rapid turnaround of reusable first stages. Additional infrastructure includes flare stacks for cryogenic venting, ground support equipment storage, and propellant and gas storage tanks.
LC-11’s role will expand with BE-4 acceptance testing once its single-engine stand is completed. The BE-4, a methalox engine producing 17.1 meganewtons of thrust across seven units on New Glenn’s first stage, is central to the rocket’s design. The second stage uses two BE-3U hydrolox engines delivering 1,400 kilonewtons of thrust. At 98 meters tall and 7 meters in diameter, New Glenn ranks among the largest rockets ever built, with payload capacities of 45,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit and 13,600 kilograms to geostationary transfer orbit.
The reusable first stage will land downrange on Blue Origin’s recovery vessel Jacklyn, formerly the Stena Freighter. Equipped with aft and forward fins for stability and steering, the stage will touch down using a single BE-4 and six landing legs, with a design goal of 25 reuses.
Production of New Glenn’s payload fairings began in 2020, ensuring aerodynamic protection and environmental control for satellites. The rocket is contracted to launch payloads for OneWeb, mu Space Corp, SKY Perfect JCSat, and Telesat Lightspeed. Future configurations may include a third stage powered by a BE-3U for high-energy missions.
New Glenn is also among proposed launch vehicles for NASA’s Human Landing System program, potentially supporting the Blue Origin-led National Team’s lunar descent element powered by BE-7 engines. If selected, the vehicle would participate in a technology demonstration ahead of Artemis III, further cementing LC-36 and LC-11’s role in advancing U.S. spaceflight.
