The wait for Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to return to flight after its May 2026 anomaly will be a little later than originally projected. According to a report by Financial Times, the company announced internally yesterday that it will be at least January 2027 before the pad is ready for the 322 foot rocket.

The FT reports also quotes Blue CEO Dave Limp in a memo sent to employees: “This small adjustment doesn’t diminish what we’ve accomplished or the importance of the work still ahead,” Limp said. “Returning New Glenn to flight remains our top priority. It’s worth it.”

Blue Origin set an aggressive goal within days of the explosion. On June 2nd, Limp said the pad’s liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen and natural gas tanks and its water tower survived, and that another New Glenn first stage and fairing were already at the Cape. Many industry observers predicted at least a year to rebuild the pad at the time.

The company is not putting LC-36 back the way it was. Under a return-to-flight plan Limp published June 30, Blue Origin scrapped the transporter erector and will mate the stages inside its horizontal integration facility next to the pad. A crane will then lift the rocket vertical, and payloads will be attached once it stands upright.

In August the company also announced Launch Complex 36B for the larger New Glenn 9×4, while the current 7×2 vehicle will keep flying from LC-36A. Published manifests list the first flight of Blue Ring, the company’s maneuverable in-space vehicle, as the next New Glenn mission.