Blue Origin explosion also becomes a problem for NASA
The explosion of a Blue Origin rocket destroyed the launchpad. This could have far-reaching consequences for NASA's moon missions.
(Image: Spaceflight Now)
The explosion of a Blue Origin rocket on Thursday could have far-reaching consequences for the space industry. The launchpad and other important ground infrastructure were also destroyed. Reconstruction could take a long time and delay important NASA missions.
Blue Origin's LC-36A launch site in Florida has suffered significant damage, according to a report by Arstechnica. This has also undone years of construction work and several hundred million US dollars in investment, as well as the company's only launchpad for the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket. Blue Origin is working on a New Glenn launch facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, but the project is still in its early stages.
It could take at least another year before rocket launches from LC-36A are possible again, estimates Eric Berger of Arstechnica, and even the enormous resources of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – who also owns Blue Origin – might not be able to change that. The Vulcan Centaur from US space company United Launch Alliance (ULA) is also currently grounded due to technical problems. This currently makes SpaceX the only provider of flight-capable heavy-lift rockets in the US space industry. This situation is particularly bitter for Blue Origin customers, as several New Glenn launches for NASA, AST SpaceMobile, and others were planned for the second half of the year.
It could also lead to significant delays in the Artemis program, under which NASA aims to bring humans to the moon in 2028. In the coming year, the Orion space capsule is scheduled to dock in space with one or even two lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin for extensive testing, though without a lunar landing.
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Blue Origin itself will not be able to enable this with its rockets for the time being. The option of cooperating with SpaceX or ULA remains, although ULA's capacities are also likely to be limited by the aforementioned problems. With SpaceX, Blue Origin would have to team up with a direct competitor. The latter is rather unlikely. NASA is now likely faced with the decision of whether to wait for Blue Origin for its test run planned for next year or to carry it out without the company.
(nen)
