Elon Musk offered Blue Origin support after the Jeff Bezos-owned company traced New Glenn’s May 28 launchpad explosion to the main oxygen valve on one of the rocket’s seven BE-4 engines.
Musk Backs Blue Origin’s Flight Recovery
"Hope you get back to flight soon," the SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) CEO wrote on Wednesday in response to Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp’s update. Musk wished the company a quick recovery after the blast, which destroyed the rocket during a preflight engine-firing test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Limp said recovered hardware and inspections confirmed the valve as the anomaly’s starting point. "The path forward is clear," he wrote. Blue Origin conducted component-level and engine hotfire tests and is making small valve modifications that crews can retrofit to existing engines. Updated hardware should be ready by the end of August as engineers complete fault-tree analysis.
The finding supports NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman’s July assessment that investigators had "honed in already on a potential engine issue." Blue Origin is reconfiguring Launch Complex 36 as it targets a return to flight before the end of 2026.
Explosion Damage Adds To New Glenn Setbacks
The explosion created a fireball and shock waves but caused no injuries. It destroyed a lightning tower and the transporter-erector used to move and raise the 321-foot rocket. Blue Origin later said key methane, hydrogen and oxygen tanks survived, along with another booster nearby.
The setback followed New Glenn’s unsuccessful third mission in April, when a second-stage failure left an AST SpaceMobile satellite in the wrong orbit. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered an investigation, accepted nine corrective actions and authorized New Glenn to return once Blue Origin satisfies licensing requirements.
BE-4 Issue Carries Wider Launch Stakes
The valve issue matters beyond Blue Origin. New Glenn uses seven methane-fueled BE-4 engines on its first stage, while United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan uses two. ULA said it is collaborating with Blue Origin, making the investigation important to a constrained U.S. launch market.
New Glenn remains central to Blue Origin’s competition with SpaceX. NASA expects the rocket to launch Blue Moon lunar missions under Artemis, while Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has booked New Glenn and Vulcan flights for its Leo broadband constellation, a Starlink rival. Blue Origin’s schedule will determine how quickly those missions can proceed.
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