Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket Explosion at Cape Canaveral

Blue Origin announced on Tuesday that last week’s rocket explosion did not damage the fuel tanks or other critical components of the launch pad. The huge New Glenn rocket, crucial for NASA’s Artemis lunar program, exploded during a test engine firing at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The lightning tower and transporter-erector used to move and elevate the rocket were destroyed, sending shockwaves across the state.

CEO Dave Limp stated that the methane, hydrogen, and oxygen tanks appear to be in good condition. The water tank is also fine, and the support tower remains standing and can be repaired onsite. A booster and other rocket parts stored nearby remained undamaged. Overall, this was ‘a kind of good news,’ Limp said in an update on X, adding, ‘We will fly again before the end of this year.’ The cause is still under investigation.

NASA granted Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars just two days before the accident, choosing New Glenn rockets to launch a pair of lunar explorers ahead of the arrival of Artemis’s first lunar walkers, who will drive them. New Glenn is also needed to launch the Blue Moon lunar module to carry astronauts to the lunar surface in the coming years.

NASA is targeting 2028 as an early date for the first manned lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. The space agency ‘will do everything possible’ to get the platform operational again quickly, while being ‘extremely focused on moving forward with the lunar lander,’ said administrator Jared Isaacman on X.

Blue Origin’s reusable New Glenn rocket line, named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit, has launched only three times. It is not nearly as large as SpaceX’s Starship, which is conducting test flights at the edge of space from Texas. NASA has contracted Starships, along with Blue Moon lunar modules, to transport Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface in the coming years.

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor using a generative AI tool.