When Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded on the launch pad last week, it wasn’t just a blow to the company but also to NASA’s lunar ambitions. To keep the Artemis timeline on track, the agency is now seeking an alternative launcher for Blue Origin’s Moon landers.
The cargo lander, Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1), was supposed to launch aboard New Glenn for a demonstration flight this fall. That mission will be the first of NASA’s Moon Base program and a critical step toward developing a Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2), the crew lander Blue Origin is developing for future Artemis missions. Instead of delaying the mission until New Glenn is ready to fly again—which could take more than a year—NASA is “de-coupling the lander from the launch vehicle and the pad itself,” Administrator Jared Isaacman told FOX Business on Thursday.
A NASA spokesperson confirmed to Spaceflight Now that the agency would like to see the launches of the MK1 and potentially MK2 move to a rocket that’s not New Glenn.
“NASA is laser focused on the lander because we’re laser focused on our mission to return astronauts to the surface of the moon before 2028, and we’re gonna be able to keep that lander in development, progressing, so it’s available for our test mission in 2027, which is Artemis 3, and potentially available to meet our landing objectives in 2028,” Isaacman said.
Artemis won’t wait
New Glenn blew up on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during a pre-launch test on May 28. The explosion sent a tower of flames into the sky and caused extensive damage to the pad. This was an enormous setback for Blue Origin, but the company has set an ambitious timeline for the rocket’s next flight, targeting a launch before the end of 2026.
That gives Blue Origin less than seven months to repair the pad damage, conduct a mishap investigation, and successfully complete pre-launch testing. Multiple sources told Ars Technica a more realistic timeline is 12 to 18 months, so it would be astonishing to see New Glenn lift off before 2027. While speaking at the CNBC CEO Council Summit on Monday, Isaacman said himself that the New Glenn launch pad may not be restored until 2028.
Still, the company is under a lot of pressure to get its heavy-lift launch vehicle off the ground as soon as possible. New Glenn was supposed to be a key component of NASA’s Artemis program, serving as the launch vehicle for the Blue Moon landers that will deliver cargo and astronauts to the lunar surface. But even if the rocket isn’t ready to fly before the end of the year, NASA has no intention of letting its Artemis timeline slip.
As far as we know, the first MK1 mission (Moon Base I) is still slated to launch this fall. That flight will validate the cargo lander’s capabilities and deliver several NASA payloads to the lunar surface. This will pave the way for MK2 development and reduce risk for a crewed Artemis landing in 2028.
It’s important to note that NASA has tapped SpaceX to develop crew and cargo landers for Artemis as well, so there is redundancy built into the program. The Artemis 3 mission, slated to launch in 2027, aims to test both companies’ crew landers in space for the first time. Making sure Artemis 3 launches on schedule will be critical to NASA’s goal of achieving a crewed Moon landing before China, which is likely why the agency is evaluating alternative launchers for Blue Origin’s landers.
Who could launch the Blue Moon landers?
At the CNBC CEO Council Summit, Isaacman said alternative launcher options for the Blue Moon landers are limited due to their mass and volume. “In terms of heavy lift, you know, real heavy lift, you’ve got, SpaceX and Blue Origin, and obviously one of them is down a pad right now,” he said.
The landers were specifically designed to fit within New Glenn’s 23-foot-wide (7-meter-wide) fairing, so delivering them to the lunar surface will require a rocket with similar specs. Isaacman said that will likely put NASA in “Falcon Heavy land,” suggesting that the landers could potentially launch aboard SpaceX’s heavy-lift rocket. But according to Ars Technica, there may be compatibility issues between Falcon Heavy’s kerosene-powered upper stage and MK1’s BE-7 engine, which runs on liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. It would also be surprising to see Blue Origin partner with its direct rival.
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur could be another option, but the rocket has been grounded since February due to a solid rocket motor anomaly. It’s unclear when it will get the green light to fly again.
This puts NASA in a pickle. If Blue Origin has its way, MK1 could launch aboard New Glenn before the year is out, but that seems incredibly unlikely. The company will have to work with NASA to come up with a solution that best preserves the agency’s Artemis and Moon Base timelines.
