Blue Origin’s launchpad sustained considerable damage after the New Glenn rocket exploded recently, and NASA chief Jared Isaacman does not think it can be restored until 2028. Talking to CNBC, he said it will “take some serious time”. That is a huge hit to the company's space mission as well as to the American space agency. But the unintended beneficiary of this incident could be SpaceX. NASA needs to send a lander to the moon by the end of this year, which was supposed to piggyback on New Glenn. However, Isaacman has hinted that they might have to go to Falcon 9, SpaceX's rocket, for this mission.<h2>What happened to New Glenn rocket?</h2>&nbsp;The rocket erupted into a fireball during a hot-fire test on Thursday at a Space Force launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Jeff Bezos, who owns Blue Origin, said it was a "very rough day" and promised to rebuild it as soon as possible. NASA has awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract to help build a Moon Base and ferry two lunar rovers in 2028. Isaacman believes that the latter is still achievable on the current timeline. “A couple of them were rovers that are meant to go to the moon on Blue Origin through their Mark 1, leveraging New Glenn, but that’s a 2028 time frame,” he said.&nbsp;Blue Origin and Isaacman are now working to salvage the company's reputation and what's at stake. Isaacman told the outlet, “We’re all getting organized generally around the idea that we certainly want to see Blue Origin be very successful. &nbsp;Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp also posted on X, saying that they can "fly before the end of this year", informing that the site’s support tower is damaged, but “it can be repaired in place" and doesn't need to be torn down or replaced. Notably, Blue Origin was scheduled to launch an uncrewed Blue Origin cargo lander - Mark 1 - atop New Glenn later this year to deliver scientific cargo to the lunar south pole.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/watch-blue-origin-s-new-glenn-rocket-explodes-on-launch-pad-during-hotfire-test-what-happened-video-1780021155966">Watch: Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket explodes in massive fireball during launch pad ‘hotfire test’</a>&nbsp;Watch New Glenn exploding into a fireball

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Jeff Bezos&#39; New Glenn rocket exploded in &quot;anomaly&quot; at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. <a href="https://t.co/zQbNZBvLqc">pic.twitter.com/zQbNZBvLqc</a>&mdash; Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) <a href="https://x.com/BowesChay/status/2060264434526822746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<h2>The monopoly in space race</h2> The company is in a pickle if you look at the missions it was supposed to undertake as part of NASA's vision to land humans on the Moon. Besides, this could also hand an edge to SpaceX, whose super heavy-lift rocket Falcon 9 can carry a significant amount of mass. Isaacman said NASA will likely have to go in “Falcon Heavy land" for the lander because of its carrying capabilities. “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,” Isaacman said. NASA deliberately chose Blue Origin to provide a competitive alternative to SpaceX's Starship HLS. However, NASA is racing to beat China in the race to reach the Moon, and so would have to rely on SpaceX if Blue Origin's launchpad is not restored on time.<h2>Deadline for dress rehearsal of lander hit</h2> Blue Origin is also working on a New Glenn launchpad at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, but it is still under development. It was under a strict timeline to launch an uncrewed Blue Moon Mark 1 cargo lander before the crewed Artemis IV mission in 2028. However, industry experts note that hitting the necessary milestones by 2027 to stay on track for the 2028 landing now seems highly unlikely.

The New Glenn explosion has created a multitude of problems for Blue Origin. Even though the company thinks it can fly by the end of this year, experts believe it will impact major deadlines, especially regarding the Mark 1, which was to deliver cargo to lunar south pole at the end of 2026.

Blue Origin’s launchpad sustained considerable damage after the New Glenn rocket exploded recently, and NASA chief Jared Isaacman does not think it can be restored until 2028. Talking to CNBC, he said it will “take some serious time”. That is a huge hit to the company's space mission as well as to the American space agency. But the unintended beneficiary of this incident could be SpaceX. NASA needs to send a lander to the moon by the end of this year, which was supposed to piggyback on New Glenn. However, Isaacman has hinted that they might have to go to Falcon 9, SpaceX's rocket, for this mission. What happened to New Glenn rocket? The rocket erupted into a fireball during a hot-fire test on Thursday at a Space Force launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Jeff Bezos, who owns Blue Origin, said it was a "very rough day" and promised to rebuild it as soon as possible. NASA has awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract to help build a Moon Base and ferry two lunar rovers in 2028. Isaacman believes that the latter is still achievable on the current timeline. “A couple of them were rovers that are meant to go to the moon on Blue Origin through their Mark 1, leveraging New Glenn, but that’s a 2028 time frame,” he said. Blue Origin and Isaacman are now working to salvage the company's reputation and what's at stake. Isaacman told the outlet, “We’re all getting organized generally around the idea that we certainly want to see Blue Origin be very successful. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp also posted on X, saying that they can "fly before the end of this year", informing that the site’s support tower is damaged, but “it can be repaired in place" and doesn't need to be torn down or replaced. Notably, Blue Origin was scheduled to launch an uncrewed Blue Origin cargo lander - Mark 1 - atop New Glenn later this year to deliver scientific cargo to the lunar south pole. Also Read: Watch: Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket explodes in massive fireball during launch pad ‘hotfire test’ Watch New Glenn exploding into a fireball

The New Glenn explosion has created a multitude of problems for Blue Origin. Even though the company thinks it can fly by the end of this year, experts believe it will impact major deadlines, especially regarding the Mark 1, which was to deliver cargo to lunar south pole at the end of 2026.

How New Glenn explosion hands Elon Musk's SpaceX an edge, and whitewashes NASA's plans

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded during a routine prelaunch hotfire test at Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In a statement on social media, Blue Origin acknowledged the explosion and said that there was no damage to its personnel. According to the Brevard County Emergency Management, the explosion poses no threat to the public. However, the explosion marked a significant dent to Blue Origin's ambition to challenge SpaceX in the commercial space Industry.&nbsp;“It’s too early to know the root cause, but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it,” said Jeff Bezos in a social media statement.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jd-vance-surprise-chest-bump-air-force-academy-ai-joke-1780031027148">“I am the Vice President”: JD Vance jokes about AI heckling and shares viral chest bump at Air Force Academy graduation</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">This angle is even crazier <a href="https://t.co/bDUuiafnTg">https://t.co/bDUuiafnTg</a> <a href="https://t.co/LuLG3frNw2">pic.twitter.com/LuLG3frNw2</a>&mdash; Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) <a href="https://x.com/SawyerMerritt/status/2060174287563116696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<h2>What is the New Glenn rocket?</h2>Named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, the New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off with internet satellites that are part of the Amazon Leo constellation in orbit. “At more than 320 ft (98 m) tall, New Glenn is one of the largest vehicles ever built". It uses liquid oxygen (LOX) / liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled oxygen-rich staged seven BE-4 combustion engines for the first stage and uses two liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen cryogenic rocket engines, BE-3U engines, for the second stage. The first stage uses a reusable rocket like a commercial carrier and can be used for at least 25 flights. It can carry up to 13 metric tons to Geo Stationary Transfer Orbit and 45 metric tons to Low Earth Orbit. Most reusable rockets work on two-stage separation. After the first stage separation, the booster of the New Glenn rockets reorients and touches down on Jacklyn. The second stage delivers the payload to the designated orbit before collapsing over the ocean.&nbsp;Last month, the New Glenn suffered a mishap and was temporarily grounded by the FAA. It lost its payload, BlueBird 7, an internet-beaming satellite in the upper stage, as one of its BE-3U engines did not produce enough thrust during a key burn, and landed the payload in the wrong spot.&nbsp;The New Glenn rocket was designed to compete the Space X's Falcon Heavy and Starship satellites. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who also had his own recent share of explosions, said in a social media post, “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a prelaunch hotfire test at Cape Canaveral, dealing a setback to Jeff Bezos’ ambitions to compete with SpaceX in the commercial space race.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded during a routine prelaunch hotfire test at Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In a statement on social media, Blue Origin acknowledged the explosion and said that there was no damage to its personnel. According to the Brevard County Emergency Management, the explosion poses no threat to the public. However, the explosion marked a significant dent to Blue Origin's ambition to challenge SpaceX in the commercial space Industry. “It’s too early to know the root cause, but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it,” said Jeff Bezos in a social media statement. Also Read: “I am the Vice President”: JD Vance jokes about AI heckling and shares viral chest bump at Air Force Academy graduation

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a prelaunch hotfire test at Cape Canaveral, dealing a setback to Jeff Bezos’ ambitions to compete with SpaceX in the commercial space race.

What is New Glenn? Blue Origin rocket explodes during routine prelaunch test

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How New Glenn explosion hands Elon Musk's SpaceX an edge, and whitewashes NASA's plans

What is New Glenn? Blue Origin rocket explodes during routine prelaunch test