Dave Limp said Blue Origin has started reconstruction at Launch Complex 36 after a New Glenn explosion there during a May 28 static fire. He said wreckage recovery took nine days and all debris was cleared from the pad.
Blue Origin posted at the time that it had experienced an anomaly during today's hotfire test and that all personnel had been accounted for. No deaths or injuries were reported, but debris was later found a half-mile from the site.
Launch Complex 36 recovery
Limp said this week that the team had moved from recovery to rebuilding, after crews finished clearing the pad and the integration area. In early June, he had also said the propellant farm, oxygen tank, liquid hydrogen tank, LNG tank, and water tower were in good shape.
That leaves the site in a better position than the blast itself suggested. Blue Origin said key infrastructure at LC-36 was not seriously damaged, even as the rocket exploded and debris spread beyond the launch pad area.
Blue Origin and Artemis
Don Platt said in late May that the explosion could have serious ramifications on future Artemis missions. He also said it was “definitely a shock and certainly an issue for not only Blue Origin, but potentially the whole Lunar Artemis program too.”
Blue Origin had planned to use New Glenn to launch Blue Moon for Artemis III next year. Limp said the company still plans to fly again this year, but the work now centers on restoring Launch Complex 36 and keeping the recovery moving after the May 28 explosion.
