27.08.2026

Blue Origin is establishing a foothold at Space Coast Regional Airport as the private company continues rebuilding its New Glenn launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and expanding its massive Merritt Island manufacturing facilities.

Now, "Blue Origin Parking" signs with directional arrows along Perimeter Road point to a new off-site staging area for contractors, complete with shuttle buses and security guards at the south side of the Titusville airport.

What's more, Director of Airports Kevin Daugherty announced an agreement is pending for Blue Origin to lease space at the airport’s old terminal building at 1 Bristow Way, where the company will make improvements and move in.

“Anything that we can do to help, we’re all about it. They’ve been an absolute pleasure to work with, as one would imagine. First-class,” Daugherty told FLORIDA TODAY minutes after the conclusion of the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority's board meeting Thursday, Aug. 20.

Daugherty briefly updated board members about Blue Origin's activities at the airport during the meeting. Few details have been publicly released, but his remarks and agenda documents shine light on the rocket company's ongoing expansion:

• The airport has entered into a temporary space use agreement with Blue Origin for about nine acres off Challenger Avenue. That's where the company is operating a 24-hour off-site contractor parking and staging zone. The company will pay $16,880 per month, and the agreement extends through June 30, 2027.
• As the crow flies, this nine-acre staging site lies about a half-mile from Blue Origin’s new light-manufacturing facility inside the former Eckler’s warehouse, distribution and trucking complex on Grissom Parkway. Company officials projected this facility – which borders airport property and is slated for future expansion – will house about 100 workers.
• Daugherty said Blue Origin also continues assessing Space Perspective’s former balloon factory, a white 700-foot-long tent structure near the old terminal, for light manufacturing or logistics operations.

Blue Origin crews creating Launch Complex 36B at Cape

The night of May 28, a New Glenn rocket spectacularly exploded on the pad during a prelaunch engine test at Blue Origin's $1 billion-plus Launch Complex 36, inflicting widespread damages.

An investigation revealed the "significant anomaly" originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the rocket's BE-4 engines, CEO Dave Limp said on social media.

He has pledged the company will return to flight by year's end.

Repair construction remains ongoing at the Space Force installation. In tandem, Blue Origin is developing a new Launch Complex 36B next door to support the bigger New Glenn 9x4 "super-heavy-class rocket" — along with large-scale support facilities.

This jumbo New Glenn 9x4 version will pack nine BE-4 engines in the first-stage booster with four BE-3U engines powering the upper stage. The rocket is engineered to lift more than 70 metric tons into low-Earth orbit.

Today's New Glenn sports seven engines and two engines per stage, respectively. Once rebuilt, the renamed Launch Complex 36A will continue supporting today's New Glenn 7x2 rockets.

In an Aug. 12 tweet, Limp said crews were sourcing 2,500 tons of steel columns for integration with beams and bracing to form 50-by-50-by-50-foot modules. These stacked modules will build a 700-foot-tall launch tower at Launch Complex 36B.

Blue Origin's construction plans at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station include a new vertical integration facility for the 9x4 rocket. The company will also build a payload processing facility in partnership with the Space Force to support both New Glenn variants and national-security launch providers.

"This infrastructure reinforces Blue Origin's commitment to Florida and the Space Coast community. With more than 4,500 employees and over $3 billion invested across 500+ Florida suppliers, Blue Origin supports a supply chain that creates thousands of additional jobs and strengthens Florida's space economy," an Aug. 12 press release said.

Quelle: Florida Today