Blue Origin pauses New Shepard flights for at least two years

Blue Origin announced on Friday that it will pause launches of its New Shepard suborbital rocket for at least two years to focus on work for NASA’s upcoming moon missions. New Shepard flights have lifted off from the company’s site in West Texas. The small, reusable New Shepard has flown 38 times and carried 98 passengers — 92 individuals, some repeat fliers — including celebrities such as William Shatner, Michael Strahan and Katy Perry, and early-space figures Wally Funk and Edward Dwight.

The vehicle does not reach orbit; a capsule rises above about 62 miles, then descends under a parachute for landing after a brief suborbital flight. The company said the most recent New Shepard flight, with six passengers, occurred last week. After that flight Phil Joyce, a Blue Origin senior vice president in charge of New Shepard, had said the company was focused on continuing to deliver New Shepard experiences: "As we enter 2026, we’re focused on continuing to deliver transformational experiences for our customers through the proven capability and reliability of New Shepard," Mr.

Joyce said in a statement. Blue Origin also said it has a backlog stretching several years of customers wanting seats. Blue Origin said it is prioritizing work tied to a NASA contract to provide lunar landers for the Artemis program.

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