Blue Origin will pause crewed New Shepard suborbital flights from its West Texas Launch Site One for at least two years to focus on developing lunar systems for NASA, including the Blue Moon lander. The Jan. 22 NS-38 mission was the first and last crewed New Shepard flight of 2026 and marked the vehicle's 38th launch since 2015. New Shepard has carried 92 individual passengers across 17 human missions and offers roughly an 11-minute trip above the Kármán Line. The pause aligns with NASA's preparations for Artemis 2 and the lead-up to Artemis 3.
Blue Origin Pauses New Shepard Tourist Flights for At Least Two Years to Focus on Lunar Programs
Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander captures its shadow on the moon's surface after completing a successful landing March 2 near a volcanic feature on the moon called Mons Latreille. The vehicle became the first of two landers manufactured by a U.S. company to reach the moon is 2025 in crucial missions to lay the groundwork for NASA to return humans to the lunar surface in the years ahead.
Blue Origin said it will suspend crewed New Shepard suborbital flights from its West Texas Launch Site One for at least two years, reallocating personnel and resources to accelerate development of lunar systems under NASA contracts.
Why the Pause?
In a Jan. 30 press release, the company said that despite a "multi-year customer backlog" for New Shepard trips to the edge of space, it is pausing the tourism program to prioritize work on vehicles and technologies for upcoming moon missions. The move reflects Blue Origin's stated commitment to supporting the nation's return to the moon and building a sustained lunar presence.
Recent Flights and Program Facts
Blue Origin completed its first — and, the company says, its last crewed New Shepard flight of 2026 on Jan. 22. The mission, NS-38, carried six people (including a Blue Origin employee) and marked the 38th New Shepard launch since 2015 from the company's private Launch Site One ranch in West Texas.
New Shepard, named after astronaut Alan Shepard, is a reusable suborbital vehicle about 60 feet tall that carries up to six passengers on an approximately 11-minute flight above the Kármán Line (about 62 miles or 100 kilometers). Passengers experience a few minutes of microgravity, can float inside the capsule and view Earth through large windows. To date, New Shepard has flown 92 individual passengers across 17 human spaceflights, with six people flying twice.
Focus on Lunar Hardware
Blue Origin will concentrate on building human lunar capabilities, including the Blue Moon lander. Reuters has reported that Blue Origin holds roughly a $3.6 billion contract with NASA to develop Blue Moon; the Mark 1 cargo variant could be used to deliver supplies to the lunar surface as soon as 2026 on an uncrewed mission, according to published reports.
Blue Origin's decision comes as NASA prepares for Artemis 2, a planned 10-day crewed lunar flyby expected in 2026 that will carry three American astronauts and one Canadian. Artemis 2 will not land on the moon but will pave the way for Artemis 3, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface. SpaceX is simultaneously developing a Starship configuration contracted to transfer astronauts from lunar orbit to the moon during Artemis 3.
What Customers Should Know
The company did not provide a precise restart date beyond the minimum two-year break. Blue Origin said it will continue to support customers and stakeholders during the hiatus while shifting resources to lunar development work.
"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," said Phil Joyce, a Blue Origin senior vice president. The company added it is grateful to its astronaut customers for their trust.
Blue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000 and is headquartered in Washington state. The New Shepard program has been the centerpiece of the company's space tourism offering, while the company also pursues larger orbital systems such as New Glenn.
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Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket carrying astronauts Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, and Lauren Sanchez lifts off April 14 from Launch Site One near Van Horn, Texas. Blue Origin has since launched five more human spaceflights on the New Shepard in 2025.
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Jeff Bezos receives his official astronaut wings after launching on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.
A Blue Origin New Shepard rocket and capsule launches July 20, 2021 from the company's Launch Site One facility in West Texas.
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The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on Oct. 2, 2025. At the time it was imaged, the comet was about 19 million miles from the spacecraft. The comet didn't come nearly as close to Earth, when it reached a distance of 170 million miles from our planet on Dec. 19.
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