Something went very wrong at Blue Origin’s Florida launch site Thursday evening. The company was attempting a static fire test of its massive New Glenn rocket when things took a dramatic turn. Within moments of engine ignition, the methane-fueled first stage erupted in a massive fireball that destroyed the booster and damaged significant portions of the launch facility at Cape Canaveral.
This is the worst disaster in Blue Origin’s history, full stop. The company, founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos back in 2000, appeared to be finally turning a corner after years of delays and growing pains with New Glenn. Now that corner looks a lot further away than it did 48 hours ago.
The explosion was captured live on NASASpaceflight.com’s Space Coast Live feed, and it’s not hyperbole to say this was the most dramatic rocket explosion since the Soviet N1 rocket was destroyed during a launch attempt in 1969. That’s company. The entire launch complex, LC-36A, appears to have taken heavy damage.
There was a lot riding on this launch. The New Glenn that blew up Thursday was supposed to carry a batch of Amazon Leo broadband satellites into orbit next week. Those satellites were safely tucked away in a hangar, so no payloads were lost, but that’s hardly the point. This was supposed to be the fourth New Glenn launch to date, coming less than two months after the rocket’s third flight. The program seemed to be hitting its stride. Now everything is up in the air.
The implications stretch far beyond Blue Origin itself. NASA has been counting on New Glenn for its lunar ambitions, particularly with the push to return humans to the Moon before the end of the decade. A grounded New Glenn throws a wrench into those plans. It’s too soon to say exactly how long the rocket will be grounded, but given the damage to the launch pad and the nature of what happened, we’re probably looking at months, not weeks.
SpaceX, meanwhile, continues to push forward with its own massive rocket. The company’s Starship completed its 12th test flight on May 22, and it was mostly successful. The upper stage splashed down on target in the Indian Ocean, and the heat shield performed well during reentry, with noticeably less damage than previous versions. However, two Raptor engines failed during launch, one on the Super Heavy booster and one on Starship itself, and the booster couldn’t complete its guided descent. The ship also skipped a planned engine restart in space. The next Starship flight will likely be suborbital as a result.
But theStarship program remains fundamentally ahead of schedule compared to where anyone thought it would be a few years ago, while Blue Origin is now dealing with its biggest crisis yet.
On a completely different note, China launched a fresh crew to its Tiangong space station this week. Three astronauts blasted off on a Long March 2F rocket, including one who will stay in orbit for about a year, which would be one of the longest single space stays ever. The mission included Lai Ka-ying, the first astronaut from Hong Kong to fly to space.
Chinese space activity is worth watching for another reason too. There’s been a striking growth in Chinese rocket bodies left in long-lived orbits over the past five years, rising from less than 100 metric tons to 252metric tons according to analysis by space debris expert Jim Shell. China is just getting started with megaconstellation deployments, which could mean thousands more rockets launching over the next decade. If the country doesn’t change its practices around upper stage disposal, we’re looking at a serious debris problem in the not-too-distant future. You can read more about Technology issues in Business contexts.
There’s also interesting movement in the固体 rocket motor world. DARPA just awarded Voyager Technologies a $16.5 million contract to continue developing thrust-control technology for solid rocket motors, which could make missile propulsion systems far more adaptable. Currently, solid rocket thrust profiles are locked in during manufacturing, but Voyager’s “propellant-embedded” approach aims to change that after the motor is already built.
Back in the US, the Air Force is sounding the alarm about launch capacity. Traffic at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg is approaching max capacity, and Defense Secretary Troy Meink told Congress the nation needs another heavy launch site to keep up with demand. The Pentagon is pushing for a new military-run spaceport, partly over concerns about the vulnerability of private or state-run sites.
It’s a busy time in space. Some weeks the news is routine. This wasn’t one of those weeks.
