Blue Origin and NASA announced a Space Act Agreement on July 24 giving Blue Origin access to NASA's B-2 test stand at Stennis Space Center to conduct static-fire tests of New Glenn upper stages. The move follows a May 28 explosion during a New Glenn hotfire test at Blue Origin's Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, which forced the company to rebuild that facility. Using Stennis will allow Blue Origin to deconflict upper-stage testing from LC-36 launch operations as it reconstructs the launch complex. New Glenn is central to NASA's Artemis lunar program, as it will launch Blue Moon landers designed to deliver cargo and crew to the lunar surface.
NASA will modify the B-2 stand to support New Glenn testing and provide engineers and equipment for the work, which the agency said Blue Origin would pay for under the reimbursable agreement. Blue Origin expects to begin using the test stand in fall. Neither NASA nor Blue Origin disclosed the cost of the modifications. The B-2 stand is part of the B-Test Complex built in the 1960s to support Apollo-era Saturn 5 testing and has since been used for space shuttle, Delta 4, and Space Launch System core stage evaluations.
The partnership underscores Blue Origin's importance to U.S. civil spaceflight infrastructure. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman framed the agreement as strengthening the industrial base and maintaining American leadership in space exploration. Mississippi's two senators and the local congressman issued statements supporting the arrangement, with Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith calling it a prospect to broaden the state's contribution to space exploration and expressing hope it becomes a long-term arrangement.
The agreement addresses an immediate operational constraint created by the LC-36 explosion but leaves uncertain the timeline for when Blue Origin will fully resume New Glenn launches from Cape Canaveral. Testing at Stennis will run parallel to LC-36 reconstruction efforts, but no schedule has been disclosed for either activity.