Blue Origin intends to send its New Glenn rocket skyward once more in 2026 despite the powerful explosion last week, CEO Dave Limp confirmed.

Limp stated on Monday that more launchpad systems at the Cape Canaveral site remained in solid condition than first thought after the test incident. He added that a previously flown booster stored nearby, plus three upper stages, also appear undamaged.

"We will fly again before the end of this year," he said.

The schedule is ambitious following the firm's largest and most public setback. Industry observers had expected recovery to stretch into 2027, given apparent harm to the sole New Glenn-compatible pad currently available.

Blue Origin has still not disclosed the explosion's root cause.

The company now holds an unusual position. SpaceX rebounded within months after a 2016 Falcon 9 pad explosion because a backup site was nearly complete. Blue Origin is constructing a second pad at Cape Canaveral, but work remains in early phases.

NASA depends on New Glenn for upcoming Artemis lunar missions. The firm had redirected efforts toward these flights, halting New Shepard tourism operations for at least two years starting in January.

New Glenn completed its debut flight in January 2025 after prolonged development and repeated postponements. The upper stage reached orbit successfully, yet the booster was lost during descent. The second mission in November delivered two Mars probes and achieved the first booster landing on a drone ship. That booster flew again in April on the third mission, but an upper-stage issue caused loss of the AST SpaceMobile payload.

Blue Origin had been preparing Amazon satellites for the fourth launch. Those spacecraft had not yet been installed, so they escaped harm.

Speculation arose that the company might jump to a larger New Glenn version on return, but Limp ruled this out Monday. The firm will alter rocket transport and erection methods at the pad. It previously relied on a transporter-erector for both steps. Limp offered no details on the replacement approach.