BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Blue Origin is preparing for its return to flight after the FAA signed off on the company’s investigation and corrective actions tied to last month’s New Glenn mission failure, which failed to place a broadband satellite into the correct orbit.
Space analyst Dr. Ken Kremer told us the company could be back on the pad in a matter of weeks. He said, “It’s possible they could launch in the next week or two or three,” Kremer said. “They’ve got the first stage ready in their hangar, and they want to roll it out to the launch pad and do a hot fire test that’s upcoming at some point soon.”
Kremer says getting New Glenn back online is critical not just for commercial satellite launches, but also for NASA’s long-term Artemis program and future lunar missions.
“NASA needs them also for the human landing system,” he said. “It’s absolutely critical that they get back online.”
Both Blue Origin and SpaceX are developing lunar landers under NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon.
NASA plans to test one or both landers in low Earth orbit during next year’s Artemis III mission.
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