Blue Origin says it expects its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket to return to flight before the end of 2026 despite a major hotfire test anomaly that destroyed a rocket and damaged infrastructure at Launch Complex 36 in Florida.
The update came from CEO Dave Limp in a company post titled “NG-4 Hotfire Updates,” which outlined the status of the launch site and recovery efforts following the May 28 incident. According to the company, key launch infrastructure survived the explosion, including the propellant farm, oxygen, liquid hydrogen, and LNG tanks, as well as the site’s water tower. Blue Origin also said the damaged support tower can be repaired rather than rebuilt.
The company noted that the New Glenn booster known as “Never Tell Me The Odds” and three GS-2 upper stages located in the integration facility were not significantly affected by the incident and appear to be in good condition.
Blue Origin also addressed speculation that it might skip directly to a future 9×4 vehicle configuration. Instead, the company said it will continue manufacturing its current 7×2 configuration and store completed stages for future use. The company added that it had already been working on replacing its transporter-erector with an alternative vertical integration approach and will now accelerate that transition.
The May 28 anomaly occurred during a hotfire test of a New Glenn vehicle. Blue Origin said all personnel were accounted for following the incident and that it continues to investigate the cause while beginning cleanup and reconstruction efforts at the launch complex.
The company also warned that debris from the anomaly could wash ashore in the coming days and weeks and asked members of the public not to touch any debris they encounter, instead reporting locations directly to Blue Origin’s recovery team.
KEY QUOTES:
“Some LC-36 updates. Now that we’ve had access to the pad and integration facility we can share a bit of good news. The propellant farm, oxygen, liquid hydrogen and LNG tanks are all in good shape. This is good luck because these are very long lead items. The water tower is also good. The big support tower is damaged, but it can be repaired in place rather than torn down and replaced. The booster ‘Never Tell Me The Odds’ and the three GS-2s that were onsite in the integration facility also look good. I’ve seen some speculation that we might move directly to the 9×4 configuration, but we won’t do that. Rate manufacturing of 7×2 is going well, and we’re going to continue that at pace as planned and store the stages for use. In addition, we had already been working for some time on eliminating our transporter-erector in favor of an alternative vertical conop, and we’ll now go directly to that; so we don’t need a new transporter-erector. We will fly again before the end of this year. Gradatim Ferociter.”
Dave Limp, CEO, Blue Origin
