Blue Origin has announced a major expansion of its Florida launch facilities, with the goal of eventually flying more than 100 rockets a year from the state. The company plans to add two launch pads for the New Glenn rocket, joining two already under construction at Cape Canaveral.
The expansion also includes a large new manufacturing facility that will produce up to 150 upper stages for a larger variant of the New Glenn. Blue Origin additionally plans to procure two more landing ships to catch and return the first stage of the rocket. It currently operates one ship, named Jacklyn.
Blue Origin will also build a new customer integration facility with the US Space Force. It will feature four payload bays to process multiple missions at the same time. Ian Richardson, senior vice president of operations at Blue Origin, said the investments are centered on building the capacity to support more missions, more reliably and more efficiently. He said the infrastructure is designed to support multiple flights per week by the end of the decade.
To date, Blue Origin has invested about $3 billion in Florida facilities and infrastructure, largely to support the construction and launch of the heavy-lift New Glenn. The company now employs more than 5,000 people in Florida and works with 500 suppliers in the state. Richardson said its operations now span more than 20 sites across Brevard and Orange Counties. He described Blue Origin as the only company, and the largest employer, to manufacture, launch and refurbish rockets on the Space Coast. That claim is a clear reference to SpaceX, which has launched hundreds of rockets into orbit from Florida over the years. Blue Origin has reached orbit twice.
Source: Ars Technica · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing