Tag: Blue Origin
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Blue Origin narrowing in on root cause of catastrophic rocket accident
Blue Origin provided its first substantive update this week on the cause of the catastrophic loss of the New Glenn rocket and most of its launch pad infrastructure at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in May. The space company’s chief executive, Dave Limp, said investigative work is continuing into the anomaly that happened during a hot-fire test…
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Blue Origin Traces New Glenn Explosion to BE-4 Oxygen Valve
The disclosure came in an August 5 statement on social media from Blue Origin Chief Executive Dave Limp, the first major update on the failure investigation since the explosion. The company had previously focused its updates on the reconstruction of Launch Complex 36, the pad damaged in the incident. Limp said the anomaly originated at…
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Space Force NSSL Ceiling Hits $30B After Lane 1 Triple
Is $30 Billion Enough for the Space Force’s Launch Appetite? The US Space Force tripled the ceiling on its National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 contract to $17 billion on Friday, July 18, 2026 — pushing the combined maximum value of NSSL Phase 3 past $30 billion when added to the Lane 2…
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NASA Artemis III Demo Will Fly Two HLS Landers in 2027
Does NASA’s 2027 Artemis III Mission Actually Land on the Moon? No — and that distinction matters enormously for anyone tracking the Artemis Program schedule. NASA’s Artemis III, currently planned for 2027, is a crewed rendezvous-and-docking demonstration in low Earth orbit and cislunar space, not a lunar surface landing. The actual crewed Moon landing is…
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NASA chief praises progress Blue Origin is making after launch failure
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said this week that Blue Origin has been putting significant resources into the cleanup of its launch pad since the explosion of its New Glenn rocket there in late May. “Blue Origin’s response to the situation is almost beyond impressive, and that’s not just a NASA assessment,” Isaacman said in response…
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Blue Origin accelerates LC-36 recovery via hybrid plan
One month after the New Glenn anomaly that severely damaged Launch Complex-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Blue Origin has conducted an intensive cleanup and recovery effort at the site. Despite widespread predictions of a 12- to 18-month stand-down, CEO Dave Limp continues to assert that the company aims to return the vehicle to…
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Blue Origin decides not to re-create ruined pad but will move on to a different launch concept
A tarnished “Road to Space” sign stands near Blue Origin’s damaged launch pad in Florida. (Blue Origin Photo) One month after a New Glenn rocket explosion damaged its Florida launch pad, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has decided to shift its focus to a new concept for future launches. “To return to flight this…
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Ars Live, today: The latest on the aftermath of the New Glenn catastrophe
Nearly a month has passed since the New Glenn rocket exploded on its launch pad in Florida, creating a massive fireball. It was likely the largest ever rocket explosion at the historic Florida spaceport, and we are still dealing with its implications today. The rocket’s explosion took out its only launch pad, LC-36A. So even…
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Aerospace Corp Study Questions Super Heavy Lift Economics
Does Super Heavy Lift Actually Lower Launch Costs Per Kilogram? A new Aerospace Corporation report released June 29 challenges the core economic assumption driving the super heavy lift rocket race: that bigger always means cheaper per kilogram to orbit. The report warns that beyond a certain threshold — which it deliberately does not quantify —…
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SpaceX Alumni Have Founded More Than 1,300 Companies, Data Shows
SpaceX’s influence on the space industry extends well beyond its launch vehicles and spacecraft, with new data indicating the company has become a major source of entrepreneurial talent across multiple technology sectors. According to data compiled by Crustdata from publicly available sources and shared with Payload, approximately 1,330 former SpaceX employees have gone on to…