Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket explosion severely damages Florida launch pad, threatens Artemis timeline
By
Eric Berger
Tries hard. Doesn't quite make it out of the oven in one piece.
Summary
A spectacular rocket explosion, described as the most significant since the Soviet N1, occurred in Florida at Blue Origin's LC-36A launch pad. The incident severely damaged launch infrastructure and has major implications for NASA's Artemis Program, as the New Glenn rocket and Blue Moon Mark 2 lander were critical components of NASA's plans to return humans to the Moon.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledThen there is the larger Blue Moon Mark 2 lander, which is due to fly on a larger and more powerful version of the New Glenn rocket with nine first stage engines, known as 9×4.
NASA is counting on the Mark 2 lander, alongside SpaceX's Starship vehicle, to carry humans to the Moon on a regular basis—and soon.
It is too early to determine the impacts from this failure, but they will be considerable.
Early reports from sources suggest that the launch infrastructure at LC-36A is severely damaged.
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