“They are making a lot of progress,” Isaacman said of Blue Origin. “So Plan A is still to launch the MK1 on New Glenn. They are very committed to getting back in the business of launching New Glenn before the end of the year. And based on the progress the Blue Origin team is making, Plan A looks a lot better today than it did weeks ago.”
NASA is considering its options
However, he said prudence demands that NASA also study alternative launch vehicles for Patience Blue Origin’s lander for the mission as well as Artemis III. Options include SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy or United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket.
That’s why NASA is keeping a close eye on Blue’s recovery. Isaacman said he receives daily updates from his team.
“We’ve got until 2027 before we panic,” Isaacman said. “If we start tracking in the middle of 2027, it will have an impact on the Artemis III missions and uncrewed landers, and that will be more worrisome.”
Cranes enter the picture
Also on Wednesday, Limp provided additional details about the company’s plans to return to flying.
“We continue to actively investigate the cause of the discrepancy,” he wrote. “The vehicle is 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 first phase being passed.”
During the test anomaly, Blue Origin lost the Lightning Tower at its launch site as well as the giant transporter-erector that carried the rocket from a nearby integration hangar to the launch site and lifted it vertically for takeoff.
To speed up the flight, Limp said, the company is not rebuilding the same pad and building a new transporter-erector (which would take a longer time). The company released a video showing how its engineers see the process in action. This involves using a crane to lift the integrated first and second stages onto the launch mount. Once there, and following pre-flight testing, a payload fairing will be placed over the vehicle prior to launch.
Isaacman praised Blue Origin for this transparency as it moves toward returning to flight, noting the widespread interest within the space community in this topic.
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