Blue Origin expands Cape Canaveral with second pad as it rebuilds after explosion

Blue Origin plans to revive Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36 as a dual-pad facility to support the larger New Glenn 9x4 rocket, with a new Vertical Integration Facility and Payload Processing Facility to be built nearby. The move follows May’s explosion that damaged LC-36, and the company says it will need up to about 2,500 tons of steel for a new launch tower; repairs to LC-36A are targeted to allow the 7x2 to return by year’s end, but there’s no announced timeline for LC-36B or the 9x4 debut.