NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Monday that repairing the Blue Origin launchpad damaged by last week's New Glenn rocket explosion will "take some serious time," though he said a 2028 recovery timeframe remains "within the realm" of possibility.
Isaacman Says Pad Recovery Could Take Time
Speaking with CNBC's Morgan Brennan at the CEO Council Summit, Isaacman said NASA wants Blue Origin to recover and succeed because the company plays a key role in U.S. lunar plans. "We're all getting organized generally around the idea that we certainly want to see Blue Origin be very successful," Isaacman said. "So recovering, getting the pad recovered, providing subject matter expertise, root cause analysis for sure. Let's figure out what's broken, and then we got to keep moving forward."
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp offered a more aggressive timeline Monday. "We will fly again before the end of this year. Gradatim Ferociter," Limp wrote on X.
Blue Origin Investigates New Glenn Explosion
Blue Origin's Cape Canaveral launchpad exploded last Thursday while the company conducted a hot-fire test for New Glenn's fourth mission. Isaacman toured Launch Complex 36 on May 29 with Blue Origin officials to inspect the damage and speak with workers.
The company had only recently resumed testing after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded New Glenn following its third mission, when the rocket failed to place its payload into the intended orbit. The FAA later cleared Blue Origin to fly again after an investigation found a "cryogenic leak" caused that incident.
The cause of the May 28 explosion remains unclear. Limp said Blue Origin regained access to the pad and began its investigation. He said the rocket's fuel tanks were in good shape and that the support tower was damaged but could be repaired in place rather than torn down.
NASA And Amazon Face Launch Questions
Blue Origin has strong incentives to restore Launch Complex 36 quickly. NASA depends on the company for Artemis and Moon Base missions, and New Glenn is central to those plans. NASA also chose Blue Origin for the Moon Base I mission launching this fall.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), another Jeff Bezos-founded company, also needs New Glenn to launch Leo broadband satellites. The fourth New Glenn mission was expected to carry 48 Leo satellites.
AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS), which is building a direct-to-device satellite network, also relies on Blue Origin for some launches. Its stock closed down more than 6% Monday after falling nearly 17% Friday.
Photo: lev radin on Shutterstock.com
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