Blue Origin crews are prepping to launch a huge New Glenn rocket as early as Sunday, April 19 — potentially creating a sunrise spectacle for oceanfront residents of Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral.
The Jeff Bezos-founded space company has yet to publicly announce a target date. But a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory shows the primary launch window extends from 6:45 a.m. to 12:19 p.m. Sunday, April 19, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The FAA backup window for Blue Origin’s NG-3 mission opens during similar hours Monday, April 20. The New Glenn will hoist AST SpaceMobile’s Block 2 BlueBird satellite up into low-Earth orbit.
On Thursday, April 16, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp tweeted a video of the massive white rocket’s 19-second hot-fire exercise, which served as a key pre-liftoff test at Launch Complex 36.
Blue Origin’s maiden New Glenn launch took place at 2:03 a.m. Jan. 16, 2025, brightly illuminating the early morning darkness at the Cape. Though the mission was deemed a success, the rocket’s first-stage booster failed to land atop the company drone ship Jacklyn in the Atlantic Ocean.
The second New Glenn liftoff on Nov. 13, 2025, produced a space-industry landmark. That rocket deployed NASA’s Mars-bound ESCAPADE spacecraft — and the booster landed on Jacklyn 375 miles offshore.
Nicknamed Never Tell Me the Odds, that now-refurbished booster will make its second flight during the upcoming NG-3 mission.
SpaceX to launch military GPS satellite from Cape
Also potentially on tap: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket may launch the GPS III-8 satellite for the Space Force on a national security mission Monday, April 20, the FAA operations plan advisory indicates.
The early morning launch window extends from 2:48 a.m. to 4:05 a.m. from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX has yet to confirm a launch date.
“GPS III satellites are the most advanced type built thus far, designed to deliver stronger signals, higher accuracy and to provide greater resilience for both military and civilian users,” a Space Force press release said.
“The series boasts improved timing devices, increased military code (M-code) capability and additional civilian signals that increase urban performance and international compatibility. (This satellite) brings the total constellation to 32 active satellites and 8 backup systems,” the press release said.
On Jan. 27, a Falcon 9 similarly launched the Space Force’s GPS III-9 satellite from the military installation.
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Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY, where he has covered news since 2004. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Blue Origin, SpaceX eyeing Cape Canaveral rocket launches in coming days
Reporting by Rick Neale, Florida Today / Florida Today
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