Blue Origin launch pad repairs could take ‘serious time’, NASA chief tells CNBC
June 1 (Reuters) – NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told CNBC on Monday it would “take some serious time” to repair the damage to the Blue Origin launch pad from the spectacular explosion last week during the test firing of the engines of the company’s giant New Glenn rocket.
He said in an interview at CNBC’s CEO Council Summit that the 2028 time frame was “within the realm of possibility,” the network reported.
The powerful two-stage vehicle exploded in a massive fireball on Thursday as it bolted to the launch tower during what was supposed to be a routine static “hot fire” test in preparation for its fourth flight into orbit since January 2025.
The setback comes at a critical time for billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket and Amazon satellite ventures as they seek to compete on more equal terms with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the world’s leading private space launch service.
Company and industry sources said over the weekend that the explosion “practically destroyed” the launch pad and required repairs that engineers predicted would disrupt operations for at least six months.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the accident, which occurred at the U.S. Space Force launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. And none of the Amazon Leo satellites the rocket was planned to carry into orbit were integrated into the spacecraft’s payload at the time of the incident.
New Glenn, named after the late astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, is expected to play a central role in delivering lunar landers and cargo as part of NASA’s Artemis lunar missions.
(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Edwina Gibbs)
