According to NBC reports, the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket developed by the American company Blue Origin suddenly exploded during the engine ignition test. The accident caused serious damage to the supporting launch pad and a long repair period for the launch facilities, which may disrupt the planned deployment of the United States' planned moon landing projects.
It is understood that the test explosion caused serious damage to the launch platform. NASA Administrator Isaacman admitted in an interview on June 1 that the repair of the damaged launch platform will take a long time and may not be completed until 2028 at the earliest. Industry analysts said that the explosion not only directly caused the postponement of many Blue Origin space launch missions, but also had a negative impact on the overall progress of the U.S. lunar exploration project.
According to the lunar base construction plan previously disclosed by NASA, "Moon Base 1" was originally scheduled to be launched as early as this fall. The project plan relied on the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket developed by Blue Origin to carry its self-developed lunar lander and deliver scientific research equipment to the lunar South Pole to verify key technologies for manned lunar landing. In addition, NASA has signed a cooperation agreement with Blue Origin, stipulating that the company must rely on the rocket to complete the lunar delivery mission of two lunar surface exploration vehicles by 2028 to serve the subsequent astronauts' lunar surface scientific research operations.
Affected by the rocket test crash, the original transportation supporting plan was difficult to implement as scheduled. Isaacman revealed that in order to complete the mission of launching a lunar lander into orbit, it is inseparable from the support of a large-capacity heavy-duty rocket. NASA is currently considering adjusting the cooperation plan and switching to the Space Exploration Technology Company (SpaceX) Falcon Heavy launch vehicle to undertake related lunar launch missions. The knock-on effects of subsequent changes in rocket selection and project delays still need to be further evaluated and implemented by the United States.