Space Quote: Not All is Lost at Launch Complex 36

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Photo of Launch Complex 36 (LC-36), located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, prior to Friday’s explosion. Completed in 2021, Blue Origin invested more than $1 billion to rebuild the launch site from the ground up. (Blue Origin)

“We have regained some access to Launch Complex 36 and are actively investigating the hotfire anomaly. We will start clearing the pad soon and have a good rebuild plan in place. The booster and GS2s in the integration facility appear healthy from quick looks.”

-Statement on Twitter/X by Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp regarding the Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36 facility damaged by the explosion of a New Glenn rocket on Friday. The “GS2s” refer to the New Glenn second stages housed at Launch Complex 36 with the booster. Eric Berger, senior space editor at Ars Technica, stated:

The company does not have another launch site for New Glenn. It has begun preliminary work on a nearby pad, LC-36B, and has plans to develop another site at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. But these projects are just getting started...Rebuilding the company’s pad, or finishing a new one, will likely take at least a year.