Blue Origin has set a very difficult time to return to flight

CEO of Blue Origin, whose main rocket is the New Glenn it exploded spectacularly less than a week ago at the company’s launch event in Florida, he vowed Monday night that the company will relaunch by the end of 2026.

Writing on the X websiteBlue Origin’s Dave Limp said that the company has completed preliminary investigations of the LC-36A launch pad.

“Now that we’ve had access to the compound, we can share the good news,” Limp said. “The gas farm, the gas, the hydrogen water and the LNG tanks are all good. This is good because these are very tall lead products. The water tower is also good.”

No need for a new transporter

Limp also confirmed that the company will continue to build the LC-36A blade, which is designed for the 7×2 version of the New Glenn rocket. One option was to focus on building a larger door nearby, on the LC-36B, which can support the larger 9×4 types of rockets (9 and four, respectively, refer to the number of engines in the first and second stages of the rocket).

In particular, Limp said Blue Origin had plans to replace the main connector that moves the New Glenn rocket from its nearby assembly assembly to the launch pad. This was damaged beyond repair in a test failure on Thursday, May 28.

“We have already been working to get rid of our lift-erector in favor of a vertical alternative, and now we will go direct; therefore we do not need a new lift-erector,” Limp wrote. “We will leave again before the end of this year.”

With this update, Limp has answered some of the key questions Blue Origin faced after Thursday’s massive failure. Most importantly, the company wants to rebuild the original damaged space and return to flight quickly with the 7×2 version of the New Glenn booster that has done so well. With this aggressive period – about six months – the company can also show the willingness to reduce the discussion of launching its Blue Moon plane on the Falcon Heavy rocket built by its competitor, SpaceX.