New Glenn lifts off April 19 on the NG-3 mission. Credit: Blue Origin
WASHINGTON — Blue Origin’s chief executive says damage to its New Glenn launch pad is not as bad as feared and that the vehicle could return to flight by the end of the year.
In an update late June 1, Dave Limp said key infrastructure at Launch Complex 36, including tanks for storing liquid oxygen, hydrogen and methane, is “in good shape” after the May 28 explosion of a New Glenn rocket on the pad during a static-fire test.
“This is good luck because these are very long lead items,” he said of the tanks. The New Glenn booster used on the rocket’s second and third flights and three upper stages, stored in a horizontal integration facility not far from the pad, “also look good.”
The pad, though, did suffer extensive damage. A lightning tower was destroyed, along with the rocket’s transporter-erector. The main tower at the pad suffered structural damage, with metal beams bent out of place.
