Blue Origin returned its 188-foot New Glenn booster, Never Tell Me the Odds, to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Nov. 20, one week after it launched with NASA’s ESCAPADE from Launch Complex 36. The booster landed on the recovery barge Jacklyn less than 10 minutes into flight and arrived at Port Canaveral on Nov. 18. The recovery, achieved on New Glenn’s second flight and with a larger vehicle, places Blue Origin alongside SpaceX in returning flown orbital boosters to station property.
Blue Origin Brings New Glenn Booster 'Never Tell Me the Odds' Back to Cape Canaveral — One Week After Launch
Blue Origin returned its 188-foot New Glenn booster, Never Tell Me the Odds, to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Nov. 20 — exactly one week after the rocket lifted off from the same facility on Nov. 13 carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE mission.
After being offloaded at Port Canaveral on Nov. 18, the booster rolled past the Sands Space History Museum as media and onlookers watched. Blue Origin teams then guided the booster through the gates of the Space Force Station, making the company one of only two operators — alongside SpaceX — to return a flown orbital-class booster onto station property.
“I could not be more excited to see the New Glenn launch, and Blue Origin recover that booster and bring it back,” Col. Brian Chatman, commander of Space Launch Delta 45, said. “It’s all part of our certification process and campaign to certify more national security space launch providers, launch carriers, to get our most crucial satellites up on orbit.”
Less than 10 minutes after liftoff from Launch Complex 36, the booster descended and landed on Blue Origin’s recovery barge, Jacklyn. Achieving a successful recovery on New Glenn’s second flight marks a swift milestone for Blue Origin; while SpaceX took more than five years to make orbital booster recovery routine, Blue Origin reached a similar milestone in under a year and with a larger vehicle.
Operational significance
The return highlights Blue Origin’s growing operational capability and contributes to a more diverse U.S. orbital launch landscape. The booster was lowered into a horizontal position at Port Canaveral on the morning of Nov. 19, observed by crowds from nearby restaurants and boats.
Reported by Brooke Edwards.
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