Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is still assessing the damage from this week’s catastrophic New Glenn rocket explosion on the company’s Florida launch pad, but it’s already clear that it will take months to make repairs and return to flight. So, what does that mean for Blue Origin and its customers?
“I guess the short answer, without pontificating, is that everybody gets delayed,” said Caleb Henry, director of research at Quilty Space, a Florida-based industry research institute.
The May 28 blast occurred during a static-fire test for the heavy-lift New Glenn rocket, which was nicknamed “No, It’s Necessary.” The launcher was due to put 48 satellites into low Earth orbit as early as next week for Amazon Leo’s high-speed internet network.
That launch is now off the table, but Amazon Leo (formerly known as Project Kuiper) is still pushing ahead with satellite deployment in anticipation of kicking off commercial service as soon as this summer. Not far from Blue Origin’s ruined pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36, United Launch Alliance sent 29 Amazon Leo satellites into orbit today on an Atlas 5 rocket.
