Blue Origin is making solid progress toward a major milestone: enabling its New Glenn rocket to support national security missions. The company, founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is about halfway along the path to certification needed to launch National Security Space Launch (NSSL) payloads.
That progress was shared by Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, commander of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC), during a briefing at the SpacePower Conference. He confirmed Blue Origin selected a four-flight plan to certify New Glenn for NSSL missions. The company already launched two New Glenn rockets in 2025, and on its second flight successfully recovered the first stage booster, Glenn Stage 1 (GS1).
“Two out of four have been successful, and we’re working very closely and anticipating a third launch earlier in the new year than later. If that goes well and they complete the fourth, I think they’ll be in a fantastic place to become our third certified provider and compete for missions,” Garrant said. “Very pleased with the progress to date.”
In April 2025, SSC tapped Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) as the three most qualified partners to launch payloads to the varied orbits needed for the government’s national security missions. Officially designated NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2, SpaceX is slated to handle about 60% of missions over the next five years, ULA about 40%, with Blue Origin, the latest entrant, projected to fly seven missions once certified.
Of course, before Blue Origin can carry national-security payloads, a data review and additional analyses will be required after the certification flights. Garrant stressed that the process is collaborative: after the fourth launch there won’t be an immediate green light. There will be substantial review, but if the next two flights perform as well as the first two, certification could come in a timely and efficient manner.
Garrant also noted that the certification process has evolved over the years, though its core structure remains similar. On a panel about launch and innovation at the SpacePower conference, Blue Origin’s Tom Martin, Senior Director of National Security Programs, expressed optimism that the certification framework could adapt as providers advance their capabilities and upgrade rocket technologies.
Lastly, Blue Origin has unveiled a super-heavy lift version of New Glenn, configured with nine BE-4 engines instead of seven, signaling ambitions to expand its launch capabilities even further.
