FAA opens comment on Blue Origin bid to launch New Glenn 50 times a year
The FAA opened public comment on Blue Origin's bid to raise New Glenn's launch cadence at SLC-36A from 12 to 50 flights a year.
what happened
The FAA published a Notice of Availability and request for comment on its Draft Environmental Assessment for a proposed New Glenn launch-cadence increase at Space Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, per the Federal Register notice. The draft EA covers Blue Origin's request to raise the maximum annual New Glenn cadence at SLC-36 from 12 to 50 launches a year, along with associated static-fire testing, downrange first-stage ocean-platform landings, payload-fairing recovery and related airspace closures. The FAA will hold a virtual public meeting on the draft EA on October 22, with the comment period closing October 30, under docket FAA-2026-9841.
why it matters
A four-fold cadence increase at SLC-36A would be a major capacity unlock for New Glenn if ultimately approved, letting Blue Origin compete more directly with SpaceX's Cape Canaveral flight rate. This notice only opens public comment on a draft assessment, not a license modification, so the actual market-access change is still pending.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Blue Origin
- Category
- regulatory
- Impact
- notable
- SNR
- 5 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-09-29
- Published
- 2026-09-29 17:30 UTC