Explosion of Bezos's Blue Origin rocket threatens Trump's Moon plans - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
The explosion of a Blue Origin rocket in Florida damaged the company's only launch pad. This could delay Trump's plans for a return to the Moon by a year.
A devastating rocket explosion in Florida, USA, threatens to delay US President Donald Trump's grand plan to return American astronauts to the Moon by 2028 and build a lunar base, Politico reports, according to UNN.
Details
One of the rockets NASA was counting on for its lunar mission exploded on the launch pad Thursday night—a massive setback for Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space company, which aims to challenge Elon Musk's SpaceX and create a rocket capable of delivering cargo and people to orbit and beyond.
The destruction at Cape Canaveral—and the resulting damage to the company's only launch pad—will likely require months of extensive repairs. Blue Origin had planned to launch a key mission on its New Glenn rocket this year, but that is now almost certain to be delayed. NASA is trying to build a lunar base on the accelerated timeline set by Trump and beat China in exploring the lunar surface, and this failure could undermine those efforts.
"A catastrophic explosion, the likes of which we have never seen before, worries us all," said Republican Congressman Mike Haridopolos, whose district includes Cape Canaveral. "Obviously, this will adjust some timelines, no doubt, but that is why we want to conduct a thorough analysis today and going forward."
According to the space agency, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew to Cape Canaveral Friday morning to meet with teams on the ground.
"Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capabilities is extremely difficult," Isaacman wrote in a post on X. "We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation into this anomaly, assess the near-term mission impact, and return to launching rockets."
Predicting exactly what happens next is difficult as the company and government officials assess the damage. But early signs were grim, the publication writes.
With Blue Origin effectively sidelined for the near future, NASA will have to rely on SpaceX.
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The space agency had hoped to test lunar landers, which will deliver astronauts to the Moon's surface, from both companies next year. The mission, dubbed Artemis III, was intended to test key technologies before NASA's attempt to land on the Moon in 2028.
It remains unclear exactly how the explosion will affect Blue Origin's progress, but one former NASA official estimated that the damaged launch pad could delay the company's contribution to the lunar campaign by a year.
"Between infrastructure restoration, the investigation, and the resumption of flights for New Glenn, as well as testing within the Artemis III program, the delay will be at least a year," the official said.
The Artemis III mission could still take place next year if SpaceX is ready. But this would mean NASA is placing a big bet on the unproven technology of a single company, the publication writes.
Blue Origin is working on a second launch pad in Florida, but it is unclear if it will be operational anytime soon.