It was certainly a mixed week for Blue Origin. The week started with new lunar contracts and ended with a rocket that could not get off the launch pad. Yesterday’s explosion not only destroyed a New Glenn rocket, but also a launch pad. It was reminiscent of the Roscosmos launch pad explosion late last year, as well as the SpaceX launch pad explosion at Cape Canaveral back in 2016 (which took a year to rebuild).
While Blue Origin must be dizzy, NASA is probably panicking. The Artemis III mission is not very likely in 2027 at this rate. Neither Blue Origin or SpaceX seem anywhere near close to ready for a low-Earth orbit display. The much derided Space Launch System (SLS) is looking better and better as time passes. Maybe the planned phase out of that rocket should be put on hold until Blue Origin and SpaceX have a proven replacement.
Given this mess, one can only hope the Chinese are secretly having problems as well with their Moon mission but keeping mums about it. Otherwise, the race to the Moon may be a little too close for comfort.
In addition the Artemis III worries, NASA will be spending the weekend rethinking its upcoming Moon base plans, which includes Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander being launched to the Moon later this year. The idea of exploring the Moon and starting a Moon base seems more difficult now when multiple missions are relying on Blue Origin hardware. This may mean more work for SpaceX at a time it is still struggling with other lunar tasks.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who only this week announced the details of his Moon base program, will be pretty busy in the weeks ahead. The rest of us, including China, will be very interested in his adjusted Moon mission plans.
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