Nasa confirms explosion-hit Blue Origin rocket still 'plan A' for Moon return missions
Nasa has said that the Blue Origin rocket is still part of their plans to return to the Moon - despite a massive explosion on the launchpad earlier this year.
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The US space agency's chief Jared Isaacman said Jeff Bezos's company had made "great progress" since the explosion in May.
He told reporters that he would not "get nervous" about further Moon missions before mid-2027 - but suggested alternatives were being looked at.
He made his comments after Blue Origin chief executive Dave Limp announced the firm would not be rebuilding the damaged pad but adopting a different launch setup aimed at getting the New Glenn rocket flying again this year.
The spaceflight company has a key role to play from the outset in ambitious plans to eventually establish a moon base.
This includes the Artemis III mission, scheduled for launch next year, which would see four astronauts test low Earth orbit docking procedures between the Orion spacecraft and commercial lunar landers, developed by Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, that are due to take humans to the lunar surface in 2028.
But this and the future moon base development rely in large part on the heavy-lift New Glenn rocket, which detonated during an engine-firing test at the end of May.
However, giving an update on the lunar project, Mr Isaacman said: “Some time has gone by since the anomaly and Blue Origin’s response to the situation is almost beyond impressive.”
He added: “They’re making great progress. They are very committed to getting back in the business of launching New Glenn before the end of the year.
“We’ve got time beyond that point into 2027 before we’re getting nervous.”
Mr Isaacman continued: “Nasa does not sit on our hands and wait for hardware to show up.
“It would be almost irresponsible with the importance of the moon base… not to have plan Bs.
“But plan A was always New Glenn, and plan A is looking a lot better today than it was weeks ago, just based on the progress that the Blue Origin team is making.”
Nasa’s moon base programme manager, Carlos Garcia-Galan, said: “We’re working with Blue Origin very closely to understand their timelines to recovery, and also looking at other options in case it doesn’t meet our timeline, so we’re paying a lot of attention again, putting the entire Nasa capability at the service of making this vendor successful.”
The moon base mission could see people living and working on the lunar surface within six years.
The pioneering project, which aims to develop the technologies needed for future deep space voyages, including to Mars, will be rolled out in three stages.
The Nasa bosses also promised that if the USA’s men’s team won the World Cup, a competition football would be taken to the Moon.
Holding out the incentive, Mr Isaacman said: “Speaking of payload capacity, what do you think the chances are here if America wins at all, that we can find some volume here on one of these landers to put one of the soccer balls in?”
Mr Garcia-Galan said: “If the United States wins the World Cup, we will absolutely find space.”