“They’re making great progress,” Isaacman said of Blue Origin. “So Plan A is still to launch the Mk. 1 at New Glenn. They are very committed to getting back to launching New Glenn by the end of the year. And Plan A looks better today than it did weeks ago based on the progress the Blue Origin team is making.”
NASA is considering its options
However, he added, prudence dictates that NASA also study alternative launch vehicles Endurance mission as well as Blue Origin’s lander for Artemis III. Options include SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy or United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rockets.
So NASA is closely monitoring Blue’s recovery. Isaacman said he receives daily updates from his team.
“We have until 2027 before we get upset,” Isaacman said. “If we start tracking towards mid-2027, that has implications for the Artemis III mission and unmanned landings, and that would be more relevant.”
Cranes enter the picture
Also on Wednesday, Limp provided additional information about the company’s plans to return to flying.
“We continue to actively investigate the cause of the anomaly,” he said. “The vehicle is highly equipped with extensive data from multiple camera angles and sensors, giving us confidence in our ability to identify and correct the root cause. Initial analysis points to the rear end of the first stage.”
During the test anomalies, Blue Origin lost the lightning tower at the launch site, as well as the massive launch vehicle that moves the rocket from a nearby integration hangar to the launch pad and lifts it vertically for liftoff.
To speed up the return to flight, Limp said the company is not rebuilding the same pad and skipping building a new carrier-builder (which would take a long time). Company posted a video shows how its engineers intended this process to work. This involves using a crane to lift the integrated first and second stages onto the launcher. Once there and after pre-flight testing, a payload fairing will be placed on top of the vehicle prior to launch.
Isaacman praised Blue Origin for its transparency as it moves toward a return to flight, noting the widespread interest in the space community.
