Jeff Bezos Wants to Save Earth With This Freaky-Looking Probe To be clear, comparing New Glenn’s launch cadence to that of Starship V3 amounts to apples and oranges. This brand-new version of Starship will be the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, so there’s bound to be technical challenges ahead of its first flight. New Glenn is smaller, has less payload capacity, and has been flying since the start of 2025. Still, SpaceX should be concerned about Starship V3 falling behind. Racing to the Moon With NASA’s Artemis 2 mission safely back on Earth, the agency is already looking ahead to Artemis 3. That mission—slated for 2027—will launch the Orion spacecraft and a crew of astronauts to space atop a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. In Earth orbit, Orion will rendezvous with at least one (but ideally both) of NASA’s Human Landing Systems to test the docking capabilities needed for Artemis 4 to land astronauts on the Moon. These two landers are being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, respectively. Starship V3 and New Glenn are intrinsic to their designs. SpaceX’s Starship HLS will be a modified version of the V3 upper stage, and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander will be made to launch aboard New Glenn. During an Artemis 2 mission briefing on April 7, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the launch cadences of these commercial providers will be a determining factor for the Artemis 3 mission. Indeed, SpaceX won’t be able to move forward with Starship HLS until V3 demonstrates reliability and on-orbit refueling. And if Blue Origin can’t significantly shorten New Glenn’s turnaround time, NASA won’t have the means to send its Blue Moon lander to space. Endurance has successfully completed thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) testing! We're now preparing for our lunar lander's return to Florida. pic.twitter.com/MGABuZPXYP