Blue Origin Faces Uncertain Future for Moon Missions After Launchpad Explosion

Blue Origin may or may not have to sit out the most immediate moon-bound missions for NASA — it depends on who you ask.

The agency's administrator, Jared Isaacman, told CNBC that it will "take some serious time" for Blue Origin to restore its New Glenn launchpad, which exploded on May 28, and that a 2028 timeframe is "within the realm" of possibility.

However, Blue Origin's CEO believes his company can repair it much, much sooner.

"We will fly again before the end of this year. Gradatim Ferociter," Dave Limp wrote on X.

If you'll recall, Blue Origin's Cape Canaveral launchpad exploded with the heavy-lift rocket while the company was conducting a hotfire test to prepare New Glenn for its fourth mission.

Isaacman toured the facility, known as Launch Complex 36, on May 29 to see the damage firsthand and to talk to the team.

The company had only just started testing the rocket after it was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), following its third mission wherein it failed to put its payload into orbit.

It was given permission to launch New Glenn again after closing an investigation that found a "cryogenic leak" to be the cause of the incident.

It's still unclear what caused the explosion on May 28.

Limp made the claim that New Glenn will fly again before the end of this year after Blue Origin regained access to the launchpad and was able to start its investigation.

He said that the rocket's fuel tanks were in good shape and that the "support tower is damaged, but it can be repaired in place rather than torn down and replaced."

It's definitely in Blue Origin's best interests to get Launch Complex 36 repaired soon.

The company is one of NASA's main launch providers for the Artemis and Moon Base programs, with New Glenn being instrumental in achieving the agency's goals.

NASA even chose Blue Origin for the Moon Base I mission that's launching this fall.

In addition, its fellow Jeff Bezos-owned company Amazon is depending on Blue Origin to launch Leo satellites for the broadband service that it was planning to launch later this year.

New Glenn's fourth mission was supposed to carry 48 Leo satellites to orbit.