Rocket Lab Electron lifts off in December 2025. Photo: Chris Leymaries
2026 promises to be the most transformative year in American spaceflight since the Apollo era. From Artemis II astronauts circling the Moon to the first commercial space stations, here’s what’s coming.
Less than a week after completing its first successful drone-ship landing on November 13, 2025, Blue Origin’s New Glenn booster made its overland return today, November 20, to the company’s Cape Canaveral facility. The recovered first stage—scorched from reentry and wrapped in protective coverings—arrived at Port Canaveral earlier in the week before beginning this mornings carefully coordinated transport through the port district.
It has been a big week for Blue Origin, first with the second launch of New Glenn, the successful landing of the first stage. As they were moving the first stage of last week’s New Glenn flight, the company casually made three major announcements today in one press release: a new, supersized New Glenn for megapayloads, ramping up the power output of its BE-4 and BE-3U engine used on the second stage of the current New Glenn, as well as the 9X4. It might be a while for the megarocket to be on the launch pad, but the engine advancements start arriving on the next New Glenn flight, NG-3.