Blue Origin pins New Glenn blast on BE-4 oxygen valve
Blue Origin says it has identified the origin of the anomaly in its New Glenn rocket back in May: A faulty oxygen valve in the BE-4 engine caused the explosion during a test at Cape Canaveral.
The blast destroyed the rocket and damaged the launch pad, but CEO Dave Limp says they've pinpointed the issue after some serious inspections and testing.
Blue Origin updates valve design
To prevent this from happening again, Blue Origin is updating the valve design, with new parts ready by late August.
Even after setbacks like an earlier payload failure, they're sticking with New Glenn because it's key for NASA's Artemis missions to the moon.
The first big step: the first test flight of the prototype Mark 1 lander, which is scheduled to make an uncrewed lunar touchdown by the end of this year, if possible.
Limp is confident they'll bounce back and keep pushing space exploration forward.