According to Bloomberg News, Blue Origin expects to complete the investigation of the latest accident next month, but will not launch rockets before 2023. The company is a space launch vehicle startup founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
On Wednesday, local time, Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s vice president for New Shepard missions, told attendees at a conference in Washington that a technical assessment of the September accident would be completed in December and that there would be no re-launch until next year.
A Blue Origin spokeswoman confirmed this in an emailed statement, and in September, Blue Origin’s New Shepard launcher flew a non-manned mission. This was Blue Origin’s 23rd mission.
About a minute after the rocket lifted off, the engine of the “New Shepard” booster accidentally caught fire during the ascent. The cargo spacecraft aborted the launch engine system and the spacecraft returned to the ground by parachute.
