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Blue Origin launchpad damaged in rocket explosion may not be restored until 2028, NASA's Isaacman says
NASA has tapped Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin for several contracts in the agency's Artemis return-to-the-moon program.
TL;DR
- A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a hot-fire test at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman estimates the damaged launchpad may not be fully restored until 2028.
- The incident affects NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon.
- Blue Origin is contracted to launch an uncrewed Blue Moon lander for NASA.
- The damage impacts other customers, including Amazon, which needs launches for its internet constellation.
- Blue Origin's New Glenn was designed to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 and ULA's Vulcan rockets.
- Blue Origin has only one operational New Glenn launchpad, making the damage particularly severe.