Blue Origin Launchpad May Not Be Restored Until 2028, NASA’s Isaacman Says

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the launchpad damaged in Blue Origin’s New Glenn explosion will take “some serious time” to restore, though he said a 2028 recovery timeline is still within the realm of possibility for missions tied to NASA’s lunar plans. The comments came after Blue Origin’s massive New Glenn rocket erupted in a fireball during a hot-fire test on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at a Space Force launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Hot-fire tests ignite rocket engines while the vehicle remains secured to the pad. Bezos said all Blue Origin personnel were safe after the incident and vowed to rebuild, describing it as a “very rough day.”

Isaacman said on CNBC that Blue Origin, NASA, and other experts are working through recovery planning, root-cause analysis, and rebuilding options. He later repeated on X that NASA’s Moon Base missions are scheduled for 2028, which should allow time for pad recovery if work moves quickly. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said the company has regained some access to the site and has developed a rebuilding plan. He also said several parts of the facility remain intact, including the support tower, which he said can be repaired in place rather than replaced. Limp added that Blue Origin expects to fly again before the end of 2026.

The explosion has major implications for Blue Origin’s role in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return American astronauts to the moon by 2028. NASA has awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract to help build a Moon Base and to deliver two lunar rovers to the moon in 2028 using the company’s Mark 1 lander and New Glenn rocket. Isaacman said that getting the lander to the moon will require a vehicle with substantial lift capability, putting the mission in the same class as SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. He said the heavy-lift market currently has only a few major players, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, but one of them is now grounded by the damaged pad.

Blue Origin’s situation is particularly difficult because it has only one New Glenn launchpad. The company intends to build another pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, but that site is still under development. Isaacman said his team reviewed historical timelines for rebuilding launchpads and concluded that, even with aggressive work, recovery will take significant time.

The incident also affects Blue Origin’s commercial customers. Amazon, founded by Bezos, had been preparing to launch 48 satellites for its Project Kuiper internet constellation on Blue Origin rockets. The company faces a Federal Communications Commission deadline to deploy about half of that network by next month, while also working toward commercial service later this year. AST SpaceMobile, which is building a direct-to-device satellite network, also depends on Blue Origin for launches. After the explosion, AST SpaceMobile shares fell sharply, reflecting investor concern about delays to future missions.