Blue Origin's Air Force rocket-cargo study contract grows to $13 million
The Air Force Research Laboratory added $11.7 million to Blue Origin's REGAL contract to study rocket-based cargo delivery.
what happened
The Air Force Research Laboratory increased Blue Origin's REGAL (Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics) contract by $11.7 million, bringing its cumulative value to about $13 million from an original $1.37 million award, per SpaceNews. The expanded contract, managed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and split between Merritt Island, Florida and Kent, Washington, funds further study of adapting Blue Origin's rockets, including New Glenn, for point-to-point cargo delivery anywhere on Earth in under an hour. Work is due by October 2027; other REGAL-funded companies include Anduril Industries, Sierra Space and Rocket Lab.
why it matters
The contract remains a feasibility study, not an operational award, but it signals continued Pentagon interest in commercial rockets as a logistics platform beyond satellite launch. For Blue Origin, it is a possible new revenue line for New Glenn as the vehicle works toward return to flight; for the wider launch industry, REGAL is a program worth watching as a template for future point-to-point service contracts.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Blue Origin
- Category
- contract
- Impact
- noise
- SNR
- 3 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-07-31
- Published
- 2026-08-02 17:30 UTC