{"id":9544,"date":"2026-06-04T01:19:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/blue-origin-vows-to-resume-new-glenn-flights-by-years-end\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T01:19:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:19:35","slug":"blue-origin-vows-to-resume-new-glenn-flights-by-years-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/blue-origin-vows-to-resume-new-glenn-flights-by-years-end\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Origin vows to resume New Glenn flights by year\u2019s end"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_73542\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73542\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73542\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_LC-36_aftermath.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_LC-36_aftermath.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_LC-36_aftermath-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73542\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An aerial view of launch complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station showing the aftermath of the New Glenn explosion last Thursday. The rocket itself virtually disintegrated in the blast leaving its transporter-erector in wreckage on the concrete pad\u2019s surface. The large gantry suffered structural damage near its base while the mangled remains of a lightning tower are visible to the right of the pad surface. A large processing hangar (at left) came through the blast without major damage, as did propellant tanks and distribution systems. Image: Adam Bernstein\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Despite a spectacular launch pad explosion last week, Jeff Bezos\u2019s rocket company Blue Origin said Tuesday the damage was not as severe as initially feared and that the company plans to resume New Glenn rocket launches by the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, in an overnight post on the social media platform X, said propellant tanks at launch pad 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station made it through the blast in good shape, as did a nearby processing hangar. The main support gantry, while damaged, can be repaired in place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow that we\u2019ve had access to the pad and integration facility we can share a bit of good news,\u201d Limp said. \u201cThe propellant farm, oxygen, liquid hydrogen and LNG [cryogenic methane] tanks are all in good shape. This is good luck because these are very long lead items.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe water tower is also good. The big support tower is damaged, but it can be repaired in place rather than torn down and replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73543\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73543\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73543\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_Gallery-NG3_Rollout-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_Gallery-NG3_Rollout-1.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_Gallery-NG3_Rollout-1-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73543\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The New Glenn rocket, mounted atop its transporter-erector, is moved to launch pad 36 for final launch preparations ahead of the NG-3 flight. The transporter-erector and the rocket, without its nose cone and satellite payload, were destroyed last week in a launch pad explosion. Image: Blue Origin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The New Glenn rocket that blew up on pad 36 last Thursday was destroyed along with its transporter-erector, used to move the rocket to the pad surface and then rotate it to vertical. But Limp said another New Glen first stage booster and three upper stages housed in a large hangar-like \u201cintegration facility\u201d at the base of the pad \u201clook good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We had already been working for some time on eliminating our transporter-erector in favor of an alternative vertical (rocket assembly capability), and we\u2019ll now go directly to that; so we don\u2019t need a new transporter-erector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No word yet on what might have caused the explosion, but Limp closed his post by declaring: \u201cWe will fly again before the end of this year. Gradatim Ferociter.\u201d The Latin expression, Blue Origin\u2019s motto, means \u201cstep by step, ferociously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin was preparing to launch it\u2019s third New Glenn later this month to put a batch of Amazon Leo internet satellites into orbit. Last Thursday, engineers loaded both stages with supercold liquid methane and oxygen for a first stage engine test firing to verify its readiness for flight. The Leo satellites were not aboard.<\/p>\n<p>Such \u201chot-fire\u201d tests are fairly routine in the rocket industry, giving engineers a chance to test launch-day fueling procedures, a booster\u2019s propulsion system and critical ground and flight software while the rocket remains securely bolted to its launch pad.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1O90WZJALYc?si=yEQUz65AwQQCCYLf\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>But it was far from routine last Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>As the New Glenn\u2019s seven BE-4 engines began igniting and throttling up, a fire broke out at the base of the booster and moments later, now engulfed in flames, the rocket exploded in a tremendous fireball, shaking the ground for miles around in a conflagration visible all the way across the Florida peninsula.<\/p>\n<p>Footage captured by photo journalists from a helicopter the next day showed the rocket and its transporter-erector had been destroyed, at least some support beams at the base of the main gantry were either bent or blown away and a separate lightning tower had collapsed in a tangle of debris.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike rival SpaceX, which has two operation pads in Florida and one in California, Blue Origin only has pad 36. The company already had plans to build a second pad at the Cape and another at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. But in the near term, New Glenns cannot fly until pad 36 is repaired.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a problem for NASA\u2019s Artemis moon program and the agency\u2019s drive to beat the Chinese to the lunar surface. Chinese officials have said they plan to land their own \u201ctaikonauts\u201d on the moon by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n<p>To win this self-declared \u201cspace race,\u201d NASA is relying on both SpaceX and Blue Origin to launch new moon landers into Earth orbit next yet for rendezvous and docking tests with Artemis astronauts in an Orion capsule.<\/p>\n<p>If those tests go well, NASA hopes to launch one, and possibly two, astronaut moon landing missions in 2028, soon followed by two flights per year thereafter before beginning assembly of a moon base near the lunar south pole where astronauts can live and work for months at a time.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73544\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73544\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73544\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_bluemoon_mk2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_bluemoon_mk2.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_bluemoon_mk2-300x169.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73544\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s impression of Blue Origin\u2019s lunar lander on the moon\u2019s surface. Graphic: Blue Origin\/NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Blue Origin\u2019s lander would give NASA an alternative to SpaceX\u2019s, a variant of the company\u2019s Starship rocket. SpaceX has had its own problems perfecting the Super Heavy-Starship rocket needed to launch its lander, and it\u2019s not yet clear if they will be ready for the Artemis III Earth-orbit test flight next year as currently planned.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn also is needed to launch prototype rovers and other science experiments to the moon aboard an unpiloted cargo lander under contracts announced two days before last week\u2019s explosion.<\/p>\n<p>NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman remains optimistic about landing Artemis astronauts on the moon in 2028 using whatever landing craft is available.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlue Origin leadership has responded incredibly quickly, and NASA will do all we can to help with root cause analysis and accelerate pad recovery timeframes while staying extremely focused on progressing the lander,\u201d he said on X.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy Space Center Director Brian Hughes, appointed to the post just last month, told the Space Florida board of directors Tuesday that NASA is \u201cdoubling down on the lunar lander.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll be working with Blue and X lunar lander technology, and all of that is designed to keep us on path, meet the President\u2019s goal, which is to have American boots back on the moon before the end of 2028,\u201d he said. \u201cAgain, that\u2019s not just something to tout, it\u2019s an important demonstration of our nation\u2019s abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73545\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73545\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73545\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_Gallery-NG3_Vertical1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_Gallery-NG3_Vertical1.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260602_Gallery-NG3_Vertical1-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73545\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the New Glenn rocket in the ready for launch configuration. The lightning tower at left was destroyed when the rocket blew up last week during an engine test firing, along with the transporter-erector holding the New Glenn in place. The large gantry at right was damaged in the blast but officials say it can be repaired in place. Image: Blue Origin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Limp\u2019s vow to resume flights by the end of the year might imply the \u201croot cause\u201d of the explosion might not have been an engine problem that would take months to correct and then test. Or at least, not a major design flaw.<\/p>\n<p>That would be good news for United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. ULA uses Blue Origin\u2019s BE-4 engines in the first stage of its new Vulcan rocket. A drawn-out engine failure investigation would be a setback for ULA, but the BE-4s have not yet been blamed for the New Glenn mishap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An aerial view of launch complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station showing the aftermath of the New Glenn explosion last Thursday. The rocket itself virtually disintegrated in the blast leaving its transporter-erector in wreckage on the concrete pad\u2019s surface. The large gantry suffered structural damage near its base while the mangled remains [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[718,712,509,719,720,721,190,510],"class_list":["post-9544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-blue-moon-mk-1","tag-blue-moon-mk-2","tag-blue-origin","tag-dave-limp","tag-jared-isaacman","tag-launch-complex-36","tag-nasa","tag-new-glenn"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9544"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9544\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}