NEW GLENN COULD FLY SOON WITH ACCELERATED PAD CONSTRUCTION!
Video from the channel Cortes do Space Orbit about New Glenn, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 16:49. Language: Portuguese. Video type: News.
What's being announced
News piece in Portuguese on Blue Origin's efforts to rebuild the Launch Complex 36 pad after the New Glenn explosion, which occurred more than a month earlier. According to Dave Limp, the company's CEO, the pad's roughly 100-ton concrete base has already been removed, using three cranes and a self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT). The next piece to be removed is the launch table, weighing around 900 tons. The company says both are in good condition and will be reused. Teams are working around the clock, with NASA supporting the investigation, and the goal is to fly again before the end of the year.
Context
With the rebuild, the payload will be integrated vertically on the pad, as military customers require, and the tower will have a vehicle access arm. One of the two lightning towers was destroyed and the other is being dismantled for repair. The video notes that New Glenn carries seven BE-4 engines on the first stage and two BE-3U on the second. In addition, the upper stage shares liquid hydrogen and oxygen fueling with the payload, which makes it very difficult to launch the Blue Moon lander on another rocket.
What it means
The Blue Moon Mark 1, named Endurance, already has its BE-7 engine installed and has passed shock tests with 21 accelerometers. Blue Origin also unveiled the BT-7, a hypergolic reaction control thruster with 80 to 120 pounds-force of thrust. Lastly, the company is opening a funding round of around $10 billion, at a valuation near $130 billion. Bezos would contribute $2 billion and another fund, $4 billion.