UPDATE 1-Blue Origin starts launch pad rebuild, targets New Glenn rocket return in 2026

Amazon.com, Inc.

Amazon.com, Inc.

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Adds details and quotes from Bezos, Blue Origin CEO throughout

- Reconstruction has begun at Blue Origin's Florida launch pad after a New Glenn rocket exploded during a ground test in May, CEO Dave Limp said on Wednesday, with launches expected to resume before the end of this year.

  • Limp was speaking alongside Blue Origin and Amazon AMZN.O founder Jeff Bezos at the VivaTech conference in Paris.

  • An uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded on May 28 during an engine-firing test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

  • No injuries were reported.

  • "It was a gut punch for the whole team. But what we've learned since then is we got really lucky," Bezos said.

  • Some of the "long lead items" on the launch infrastructure, including the propellant tank farm, liquid hydrogen, liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen, were preserved, he added.

  • Earlier this month, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told CNBC that damage to New Glenn will take some "serious time" to repair.

  • Limp said Blue Origin had brought in crews working around the clock to clear debris from the pad, and that reconstruction began on Tuesday.

  • He also said Blue Origin's uncrewed Mark 1 lunar lander mission is expected to fly early next year.