NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Blue Origin is making strong progress in recovering from the May 28 explosion of its New Glenn rocket that damaged the company's sole launch pad.
Isaacman spoke to reporters on Wednesday and noted that Blue Origin has devoted significant resources to cleanup at Launch Complex 36A. He added that the US Space Force has also been involved in the recovery planning.
"Blue Origin’s response to the situation is almost beyond impressive," Isaacman said. The agency’s preferred plan remains launching the Endurance Mk. 1 lunar lander mission on New Glenn before the end of the year.
Isaacman said NASA is still monitoring the timeline and receives daily updates. "We’ve got time into 2027 before we’re getting nervous," he said, while also studying backup launch options such as SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy or United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan.
Blue Origin chief executive Dave Limp stated that the company continues to investigate the anomaly, with early analysis pointing to the aft section of the first stage. The firm plans to use a crane to lift the rocket onto the launch mount rather than rebuild the full pad infrastructure.
