Blue Origin narrowing in on root cause of catastrophic rocket accident
Summary
Blue Origin provided its first substantial update on the May hot-fire anomaly of the New Glenn, confirming that the issue originated at the main oxygen valve on a BE-4 engine. The company is conducting extensive tests and fault-tree analysis while planning small retrofit modifications to the valve and scheduling updated hardware for readiness by the end of the month, with the goal of returning to flight by year-end. A root cause has not yet been identified, but the update signals urgency in rebuilding Launch Complex 36-A and resuming launches to support NASA and commercial space goals.