Blue Origin’s plans to launch New Glenn on its rebuilt Cape Canaveral site are getting delayed into the new year, according to a report from Reuters.

Reporter Joey Roulette posted an internal memo about the delay on X from Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp that said, “Rebuilding at pace hasn’t been easy. For those of you who live or visit the Cape, you know that this summer’s weather has not been our friend.”

That includes the torrential rains that his the Space Coast earlier this week, which dumped up to 20 inches on the southern end of Brevard County and inundated the entire region, shutting down operations at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Limp had for months, though, insisted progress was still on pace to hit the company’s target of returning its heavy lift rocket to launch capability before the end of the year.

“As we complete construction and prepare to begin testing our new CONOPS (Concept of Operations), we’re proactively updating our anticipated launch date to January 2027,” the memo reads. “This small adjustment doesn’t diminish what we’ve accomplished or the importance of the work still ahead. Returning New Glenn to flight remains our top priority.”

The work on the pad was required after Launch Complex 36 suffered catastrophic damage during an explosion on May 28 as the company was performing a hot fire test of one of its New Glenn rockets.

Space Force Col. Brian Chatman said it was the largest explosion ever seen on Cape Canaveral, and it was one that measured 2.5 on the Richter scale, according to the United State Geological Survey.

Damage wasn’t as dire as originally feared, though. Blue Origin set about moving forward with repairs to salvageable infrastructure at the site while also pursuing a new plan on how to launch its New Glenn rockets in the future.

As the explosion took out not only the rocket that was being tested, but also the company’s transporter erector tower, Blue Origin opted to remove the transporter erector as part of its launch needs in favor of using cranes to lift its rockets into position on the rebuilt launch tower.

Much of the supporting equipment at the launch site survived. In addition to the vehicle access tower, other recoverable infrastructure included a tank farm, the integration facility building adjacent the pad and a water tower.

The return of New Glenn to flight is essential for NASA’s plans for its Artemis moon program.

A version of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK2 lunar lander is supposed to fly as part of the Artemis III mission in mid 2027.

That lander is nearly ready for launch, while the company will continue to manufacture new rocket stages for New Glenn at its massive campus in Merritt Island.

It still has in had one booster named “Never Tell Me The Odds” that made successful launches and landings on both the second and third ever flights of New Glenn.

The company is also building out a second launch pad at Launch Complex 36 that will support an even larger version of New Glenn. Also in the works are a vertical integration facility for the larger rocket and a payload processing facility to support national security missions flown by Blue Origin as well as other launch providers as part of a contract awarded by the Space Force.

The company is also eyeing two more launch pads, which Chatman said were targeting nearby Space Launch Complex 46, but have yet to be approved.

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