Last week, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded during a test in Florida, however, the company's management said, that the carrier will fly again to the end 2026 year.
CEO Dave Limp said, that most of the infrastructure of the launch pad was preserved after the explosion. Accelerator stage, who was already in flight and was at the complex, and the top three steps are in good condition. Blue Origin has not yet determined the cause of the explosion. Return to flights in 2026 year is quite a bold plan, because most experts in the space industry assumed, that the company will not be able to resume launches before 2027 year. The complexity of the situation is that, that Blue Origin currently has only one launch pad, capable of accepting New Glenn. Construction of the second one at Cape Canaveral is in the very early stages.
It is extremely important for the company to resume flights as soon as possible, since NASA is counting on New Glenn as part of the planned series of Artemis missions to the Moon. It is to support this program that Blue Origin announced in January that it would suspend tourist flights on the much smaller New Shepard rocket for at least two years.
For reference: The first launch of New Glenn took place in January 2025 року після тривалої розробки й численних затримок. Верхній ступінь вийшов на орбіту, але прискорювач вибухнув під час повернення на Землю. Другий старт у листопаді того ж року вивів на орбіту два апарати, що прямують до Марса, а компанія вперше успішно посадила прискорювач на платформу в океані. Третій запуск in April 2026 року завершився невдачею, бо верхній ступінь спрацював некоректно, і супутник зв’язку AST SpaceMobile опинився не на тій орбіті та був втрачений.
Source: https://universemagazine.com