After the explosion: Blue Origin rebuilds launch pad, aims to fly New Glenn in December
In May, Blue Origin's heavy-lift New Glenn rocket exploded on the pad. The rebuild in Florida is now advancing, and founder Jeff Bezos is targeting a return to flight in December.
Archive image · Photo: U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Samuel Becker / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Around four months after a New Glenn rocket exploded during a ground test in late May, the rebuild of launch complex LC-36 at Cape Canaveral is making progress. As specialist site NASASpaceFlight reports, the first two modules of the support tower have been restacked. The launch bridge has been restored, and water piping and the deluge system meant to absorb the thrust of the seven BE-4 engines are in place. The explosion had destroyed the lightning tower and the large transporter-erector, among other things.
Blue Origin is also changing its approach: instead of rolling the rocket to the pad horizontally, it will in future be stacked vertically at the tower – similar to SpaceX's Starship. Founder Jeff Bezos told Fox News the goal is a return to flight in December carrying a Blue Ring spacecraft, joking that it could slip to 31 December. In the long term the company plans several launch pads and wants to sharply increase its launch rate. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp also confirmed significant investment in human spaceflight on 7 October.