Blue Origin says a major piece of infrastructure at its New Glenn launch site is ready for use again.
In an Oct. 9 update, CEO Dave Limp said the launch bridge at Launch Complex 36 was back and ready for use. According to Limp, the company salvaged most of the structure, reworked its bearing mating surfaces and reinstalled the main water piping.
The repair followed a recovery operation that began months earlier. In July, Limp said the nearly four-million-pound bridge was in good condition and would be reused. He said three cranes were positioned to lift the bridge and launch table out of the flame trench and onto self-propelled modular transporters; the bridge had been removed the previous night.
Part of a larger pad rebuild
New Glenn exploded during a static-fire test on May 28, damaging Blue Origin's only orbital launch site. Spaceflight Now reported that all personnel were safe, while the blast appeared to destroy at least one lightning protection tower and the transporter-erector.
Blue Origin's June recovery plan confirmed the loss of the lightning tower, transporter-erector and hydraulic cylinders. The company said it would rebuild Launch Complex 36 around a hybrid process in which New Glenn's stages are joined horizontally before a crane lifts the assembled rocket onto a refurbished launch table.
At the time, Blue Origin said it aimed to return New Glenn to flight by the end of 2026. Limp's Oct. 9 bridge update did not say that the wider pad rebuild was complete or announce a launch date.
