GoKawiilNASA 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 to questions from reporters on Wednesday afternoon. He noted that officials from the US Space Force have also been deeply involved in Blue Origin’s planning and work since an anomaly during a test firing took out New Glenn’s only operational launch pad on May 28.
NASA has a significant stake in Blue Origin’s return to flight. It is counting on the company’s Mk. 1 lander to carry dozens of cargo missions to the Moon, and its Mk. 2 lander to eventually ferry people to the lunar surface. The company’s New Glenn rocket was expected to play a critical role in launching both of those landers.
Plan A is to launch on New Glenn
Before the accident, Blue Origin had been hoping to launch its first Mk. 1 mission, named Endurance, later this year for a cargo landing on the Moon. Additionally, the company is developing a test version of the Mk. 2 lander for launch as part of the Artemis III mission, which NASA hopes to fly during the second half of next year.
Blue Origin officials, including chief executive Dave Limp, have said the company is working toward rebuilding Launch Complex 36A, completing the anomaly investigation, and launching New Glenn on a return-to-flight mission before the end of this year. Privately, some NASA officials have expressed skepticism about this timeline. Most independent observers have suggested that a 12- to 18-month timeline is probably the most realistic for New Glenn’s return to flight.
Isaacman stressed this week that NASA’s preferred option is for the Endurance mission, which will carry two NASA science and technology payloads to the lunar surface, to launch on New Glenn.